Ryde or Die: Lita Returns
by Jean-theGuardian
Summary: When Lita returns to action, she and Trish rekindle their friendship. But can even the combined forces of these BadGirls stand up to their powerful enemies? It's Trish and Lita vs. the WWE! Based on Lita's September 2003 return to WWE RAW.
1. Part 1 Back with a BANG!

Ryde or Die: Lita Returns  
  
by Jean-theGuardian  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Vince McMahon and WWE own everything here. Don't sue.  
  
Spoilers: September 16 RAW, when Lita returned and made the save for Trish; Unforgiven 2003  
  
Summary: When Lita returns to action, she and Trish re-kindle their strong friendship, and forge a powerful alliance. But can even the combined forces of these BadGirls stand up to their powerful enemies? It's Trish and Lita vs. the World!  
  
Part 1 - Back with a Bang!  
  
RAW - Monday, September 17th, 2003  
  
Trish's head throbbed with unreal pain as her skull slammed full-force into the mat with a double DDT, courtesy of Gail Kim and Molly Holly.  
  
She knew going into this match that she was in for it. No partner. No help. No friends. Thanks to that asshole, RAW co-General Manager Eric Bischoff, making this match a handicap tag match, Trish was all alone out there, fighting for her career, just barely keeping conscious after the onslaught by these two women.  
  
She also knew that Molly and Gail weren't about to stop for anything. She heard the two women run their mouths off the entire week going into RAW tonight that they were going to end Trish Stratus's career. That they would finally take out the 4-time WWE women's champion once and for all. And it looked like they were about to make due on their promise.  
  
She felt herself being hoisted up onto something solid and cold. She felt her body dangling, hanging arc-like from something, perhaps a chair. She couldn't tell, because the assault she had taken had left her practically unconscious. She felt something cold being pressed against her neck. She could feel that was a steel chair. She'd been attacked by enough of them for months to know what the feel of one was like. Perhaps the worst part of all this was that she could feel, could sense what was about to happen, yet she couldn't lift a finger to stop it. Her body had completely shut itself down, drained by fatigue and physical punishment. Or maybe that was a relief. Then maybe she wouldn't feel a thing when whatever was about to happen had happened. It would finally be over. All the weeks of frustration, the sneak attacks, the isolation in the back, the constant targeting by people like Molly Holly, Jazz, Victoria, Ivory and Gail Kim would be gone. Done in an instant. With her career.  
  
And in that moment, she had never felt more alone in her life. She was about to be seriously injured and there was no one around to help her. No friends, no family, no one who cared. She wished her best friend was here, ready to help, but she knew that wasn't about to happen. She was gone .And she was never coming back. She shut her eyes and was ready to accept her fate.......  
  
Suddenly, a roar from the crowd erupted as she squinted her eyes open just enough to see a streak of red hair slid in a lightning-speed into the ring, knocking down Gail Kim in a heart beat. Trish seized the opportunity and managed to roll herself off the steel chair she was placed on with her last bit of energy. She collapsed in an exhausted heap onto the mat, closing her eyes and wincing in pain. She could hear a vicious fight going on around her, hear the crowd roaring in delight, feel the sickening THUD! at which a pair of bodies hit the floor. And then she heard music.  
  
A tune that was familiar, but was so inprobable to hear that Trish thought she was hallucinating. She recognized that theme music, "LovePassionFuryEnergy", from BoyHitsCar, a song that once brought her reassurance, not because of the lyrics neccesarily, but because of the woman associated with that song. The one good friend she had ever had in this business.  
  
And then she felt a pair of firm, yet gentle hands on her shoulders, gently wrapping around her and lifting her up off the canvas.  
  
"Trish......Hey, Trish......QueenBee, you okay?", a familiar voice asked. There was only one person she knew who called her "QueenBee".  
  
"Come on, Trish, talk to me."  
  
Trish's eyes fluttered open, and went wide as her hazel eyes rested on her savior.  
  
Lita smiled down at her, her soft features showing a mixture of concern and relief.  
  
"L-Lita?......But......Li......how?", Trish stammered, stunned and groggy. "Am......Am I dreaming?"  
  
Lita chuckled. "No, stupid, but you look like you're halfway to Dreamland. Let's get you out of here before the Gruesome Twosome over there decide to wake up", the redhead motioned over to the prone bodies of Gail and Molly Holly.  
  
"I hear that", Trish muttered as she was assisted out of the ring by her best friend. Trish clutched her head as she limped to the back to the sound of thunderous cheers, Lita's arm firmly wrapped around her middle, supporting the blonde's body upright.  
  
"Oww, oh man, I've got a headache", Trish grumbled as she lifted her hand to acknowledge the crowd.  
  
"Maybe, but it's better than having a broken neck, and trust me, that comes from experience...Lucky I got here when I did", Lita smirked.  
  
Trish smiled warmly. "Hey, Li?" That was her own nickname for her best friend.  
  
"Yeah, Queenie?", Lita smiled back.  
  
"Welcome back."  
  
------------------------------ Trish's Locker Room - After RAW  
  
Trish held an icepack over her head, leaned up against a chair. She was starting to feel a little more like her old self again. Lita, having no locker room of her own, decided to stay in with Trish, insisting that she needed help to pack her things, especially considering that she did not have her bearings fully back just yet.  
  
The pair of beauties laughed in delight when they watched the TV monitor of RAW, seeing an incensed and injured Molly Holly and Gail Kim irately complaning to Eric Bischoff about Lita's interference in their well-laid plan. Bischoff argued that he had no idea that Lita was even in the building and that he fired her. Or course, the surprise was when Stone Cold Steve Austin himself informed the three that it was the Rattlesnake himself who had hired Lita back to RAW, and let her in the building. And in a delightful twist, he booked Trish and Lita vs. Gail and Molly at Unforgiven. After a string of 'WHATs?', he left Bischoff seething and turning red, Molly exasparated, and Gail to mournfully woe, "I can't BELIEVE I slept with the wrong General Manager!" Stone Cold whirled on her, asking, "Come Again?" Gail stammered that it was okay, not like it was the first time or anything.  
  
Trish giggled with glee. "Gee, I don't know which is worse for that girl, having to face the two of us, or living with the memory of getting wriggly with Bischoff."  
  
"Trust me, girl, if it came down to Bischoff and an ass-kicking, I'll take my licks twice over if need be", Lita snickered.  
  
Trish grew serious for a moment. "But, Li.....I don't get it. You were fired, and all the rehab you've been doing and everything.......how are you......here?"  
  
Lita shrugged. "I got medically cleared a month ago. I took some time to train, get a couple new moves, look after myself...then last week, after RAW ended, I got a phone call from Steve. He said he overheard Gail and Molly talking about what they had planned for you tonight, and well, given that he knew you was my gurl and all, he didn't think that would sit too well with me."  
  
"So, what happened?", Trish asked, her interest piqued.  
  
"I practically begged him to let me go back on RAW. He made me a deal, to fax him over the papers medically clearing me to wrestle, and he would have me signed to a new RAW contract within a day or so. I faxed over the papers on Tuesday, we met on Wednesday in San Antonio, talked over the stipulations of my contract with my lawyer and his, and by Thursday, I was officially signed as the newest member of the WWE RAW brand. But as part of the deal, I had to keep my signing a secret until tonight. He said he wanted to see the look on Bischoff's face when he found out that Stone Cold Steve Austin resigned the same woman Bischoff had personally fired."  
  
"So, that's why you didn't call me with the good news then", Trish smiled, but arching an admonishing eyebrow.  
  
Lita sighed, but still smiling. "QueenBee, you know that I would've called you the second I signed that contract if I could've- - "  
  
"I know, I know", Trish laughed it off. "I'm just having some fun with you, Li. I'm just glad you're back."  
  
Lita smiled again. She placed a reassuring hand on Trish's own. "I am back, Queenie. And I ain't going nowhere. I know it's been rough for you alone, but that's over. I'm here, and I've got your back."  
  
Trish sighed. "It's just...it's been so hard, you know?", her voice starting to quiver with emotion. "I-I mean, I'm thankful for everything I've accomplished here, but the last few months have been so hard. If it's not Jazz, then it's Victoria, if not Victoria, then Molly Holly, if not her it's Gail Kim, then it's Molly AND Gail at the same time, and on top of that, Bischoff's made it his personal duty to make things as difficult for me as possible . I've never really had many friends here, well, not any that can back me up like you could. Terri and Stacy don't count in that respect."  
  
"Hey, hey, hey", Lita sushed her friend soothingly, reaching out and running a hand through her blonde hair. "I know it's been rough. I've been there, believe me. If you only knew how many times I've seen you get beat up, jumped from behind, and taken down while I've been away...and not being able to help you out made it even worse. It was killing me. But that's over now, girl. I'm back, better than ever, and I'm ready to back you up. Whatever happens from now on, we face it together. We're girls, Queenie, remember that. Always. You and me. Ryde or Die .BadGirls 4 life."  
  
Trish smiled, her eyes starting to water. "I've missed you so much, Li", she pulled her into a hug.  
  
"I've missed you, too, QueenBee", Lita softly replied, hugging back tightly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill.  
  
Their heartfelt moment was interrupted when Eric Bishoff stormed into the locker room. He stopped short of the two women and scowled as his eyes rested on Lita.  
  
Lita returned the scowl with her own heated stare. She never believed that she could truly hate someone, and yet as her greenish eyes bored into Bischoff, she felt a hatred for this pathetic excuse of a man so intense that she could barely see straight.  
  
Bischoff smugly smiled. "Well, well.......look who's FINALLY here. Is that her? Is that you, Lita? THE Lita? The same Lita who insulted me in the center of the ring last April, after I tried to help to launch her career with a proposition for Playboy? The same Lita I fired in the center of that same ring, on that same night?" The smile disappeared and his scowl reemerged ."The same Lita who just an hour ago, showed up here on MY show and screwed up one of MY matches that I had PERSONALLY set up, in defiance of MY orders after I fired her and threw her off MY show?! Is that the same Lita?!"  
  
Lita stood up and stared back intensely, not intimidated by the man, in spite of the fact that he had about a good inch on her. "Well, Eric, I'd say it's nice to see you too, except we both know that would be lying, now wouldn't it?", she smirked back sarcastically.  
  
Trish stood up, infuriated. "How DARE you! You can't just barge into my dressing room whenever you feel like!"  
  
"Shut up, Stratus! I'm the General Manager of RAW and I can do WHATEVER I feel like!", he snapped, before turning his gaze back to Lita. "Honey, you made a big mistake coming back here to RAW. You've gotten on my bad side, Lita, and I swear to you, I SWEAR, that I will do everything in my power, and that's a lot of power, to make your life a living, breathing hell! Every turn, every move you make, every step you take, Lita--"  
  
"Look....Bitch-off", Lita spat. "If you're going to come in here spitting out lyrics from Sting and the Police, there's a karaoke bar down 5th and Samford. Otherwise, get to the point, we've got things to do."  
  
Trish stiffled a snicker at Bischoff's reddened face. He looked like he was suffering from an extreme case of constipation.  
  
"Do you think this is funny, Trish? Huh?", Bischoff said as he took a step towards Trish, who scowled at him. She hated him just as much as Lita did, maybe more, if it were possible. "You know, it would've just been SO awful if Gail and Molly had broken your neck tonight", he said in mock sympathy. "And on the eve of the release of your new DVD, too. (A/N: Trish's new DVD hits stores this week. Check it out!) Gee, now, that would have been just...devastating."  
  
Trish gritted her teeth, just about all she could do to keep from nailing this pompous prick in his testicles, assuming he had any. "Well, gee now, I wasn't the one who signed that match to begin with, now was I, ERIC?!"  
  
Bischoff chuckled. "Yeah, that was a good one. Of course, it was nothing personal against YOU, Trish. And it had NOTHING to do with the fact that you refused to go out with me earlier this year. It's just that, well, let's just say that Gail and Molly, especially Gail", he chuckled again, before continuing, "let's just say, they know how to play ball."  
  
"You mean how to play with them", Lita smirked. "Assuming, of course, if there was anything to play with, to begin with."  
  
Trish's eyebrows arched in delight at Lita's sharp comeback. God, how she had missed her friend's ever-quick sense of humor, those nasty little one- liners she could come up with.  
  
Bischoff's face reddened again at the innuendo, scowling. "Listen, sweetheart, I don't what that idiot Austin did or what kind of contract he signed you to, but I WILL find a way to break it. I can fire you right here, right now. And if Austin hires you back again, I'll just fire you again! I'll keep your career in permanent limbo, Lita. I will make sure that you NEVER set foot in another ring again, and I will be loving EVERY MINUTE OF IT!", he hissed. Lita scowled, clenching her fists until her knuckles grew white. She wanted nothing more than to punch the living hell out of this jackass. The fact that he would derive so much pleasure out of squashing someone's career made him absolutely disgusting and repugnant.  
  
"In fact", Bischoff continued, smiling that cheezy smile of his, "I think that's what I'll do. Lita, as of right now, you're fi- -"  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Bischoff stopped cold in his tracks, as the look of superiority on his face melted away into one of irritance, annoyance and desperation......  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Lita smiled as she saw who was standing behind the co-General manager of RAW.......  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Trish shook her head and smiled, relieved at the sight.......  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
For standing behind Bischoff......  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Was the one man........  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
With enough power.....  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
And enough moxie.....  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
To make Bischoff's life a living hell.....  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
The other co-General Manager of RAW.......  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
The man who gave him the beating of his natural life at No Way Out 2003.......  
  
"WHAT?" Bischoff slowly turned around and looked into the cold blue eyes.......  
  
"WHAT?  
  
Of Stone Cold Steve Austin.  
  
"You're gonna fire Lita? WHAT? Is that what you 're gonna do? WHAT?", the bald-headed Texas Rattlesnake started on one of his famous rants, his face intense, yet smirking as he did so. "Kick her to the curb? WHAT? Can her? WHAT? Give her the Boot? WHAT? The Axe? WHAT? The Chopping Block? WHAT? Well, there ain't gonna be any of that tonight! WHAT? I said there ain't gonna be any of that tonight! WHAT? No way! WHAT? No can do! WHAT? Nothing! WHAT? Nada!WHAT? Zip! WHAT? Zilch! WHAT? Do I have to draw you a picture? WHAT? Are you some kind of idiot? WHAT? Jackass? WHAT? Mo-ron? WHAT? Ignor- amus? WHAT? Knuckle-head? WHAT? RE-tard? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?"  
  
Lita and Trish exchanged smiles with each other, chuckling at the sight before them. Lita had known Steve for a long time and she knew better than anyone that he could be as off-the-wall as anyone she ever met.  
  
Bischoff looked like he had swallowed his retainer. "Steve, do you mind? I'm trying to--", Bischoff started.  
  
"Shut up!", Austin snapped. "Now what you've got to understand, Eric, is that I don't like having my authority disrespected!"  
  
Bischoff stared incredulously at the Rattlesnake. "Oh yeah!?, Then how come you've disrespected my authority ever since you come in here from Day 1and-- "  
  
"I'm Still TALKING, Eric!", Austin cut him off. "And, seeing as it WAS you who invited me to join RAW earlier this year to save your miserable little job, I'd say you have yourself to blame on that! See, I figured you'd try to pull somethin' like this. So what I did was I signed Lita, which was a hard thing to do, considering the way you treated her last time, to a brand new, iron-clad RAW contract. And the stipulations indicate that under no circumstances is Lita to be fired, WHAT?, suspended ,WHAT? treated disrespectfully ,WHAT? professionally, WHAT? or personally, WHAT? by the governing branch of RAW, that being you and me, WHAT? You and me. WHAT? Me and You. WHAT? Tu y Yo. WHAT? Austin and Bischoff. WHAT? for the duration of her LONG, WHAT? LUCRATIVE, WHAT? BONUS-clad, WHAT? FAT NEW contract. WHAT?" As he said this, he ticked off every stipulation with his fingers, in between all the 'WHAT's.  
  
Trish looked to Lita, with a quizzical expression on her face, as if to ask if it was true. When the redhead smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, Trish beamed a Broadway smile. Lita really was here to stay this time.  
  
"You signed her to--what?!", Bischoff exploded. "How could you make a decision like that? Without my consent? Without my judgement?! Without my prior approval?!"  
  
"Like the way you signed most of the matches at Unforgiven without my approval? WHAT? How you signed JR and King against that little piece of trash Coach and that jackass AL Snow for the announcer jobs on RAW? WHAT? How you placed Bill Goldberg in a tag match with Evolution, with Randy Orton as his partner to be set up for an ass-kicking? WHAT? How you signed poor Trish here in a handicap tag tonight that almost left her crippled by your little bimbo girlfriends? WHAT?", Austin scowled. "Something like that, Eric?"  
  
Eric opened his mouth to say something, but Austin cut him off. "Nah-AHH! Now what you've got to understand, Eric, is that whether you like it or not, I'm the co-GM of RAW, it's 50-50, right down the middle. And whether you like it or not, I signed Lita to RAW, and Lita is here to stay. WHAT? I said Lita's here to stay. WHAT? She ain't going no where. WHAT? She's staying put. WHAT? Do you understand me? WHAT? Do I make myself clear? WHAT? Comprende? WHAT? Sabe? WHAT? Parlez vous Englais? WHAT? DO you get it? WHAT? Can you hear me? WHAT? Can you hear me NOW?" At that point he stuck a middle-finger in Bischoff's face. The smaller man shut his eyes as an expression of powerlessness and exhasperation coursed his face.  
  
Lita's eyes danced with amusement. Seeing Bischoff suffer like that gave her such a sense of satisfaction. The no-good bastard deserved every bit of it and more. Trish grinned in delight. After what Bischoff did to Lita, and what he tried to have done to Trish, the blonde could only hope that Bischoff was getting a dose of his own medicine.  
  
"This isn't over, Austin", Bischoff swore. "I'll find a way to break that contract. If i have to go through it with a fine-tooth comb, I WILL break that contract!"  
  
"Well, you're in for a very long wait, Eric, 'cause there ain't no loophole in there", Austin said. "Everything you've thought up, I've countered. Go ahead, take a look at the contract. Go over it, read it, study it, cross yout little 'T's, dot your little 'I's and whatnot, but you'll come up with nothin'! The contract is airtight, signed, sealed and delivered. Lita's on RAW, she's stayin' on RAW, and that's the bottom line, WHAT? 'cause Stone Cold said so! Now you'd better hurry up and get your little ass outta here, Eric."  
  
"Oh, yeah? Why SHOULD I?", Bischoff countered. "It's my show, too! I've got every bit as much right to be here as you do!Besides, you can't touch me unless I physically provoke you, or you'll lose your job!", Bischoff smugly smiled.  
  
"I know that", Austin smiled, a nasty, knowing smile. "But seeing as how you took your time to pack up and leave, and the meter was runnin on your limo ride, I told the driver to head over to the airport with your stuff already."  
  
"WHAT?!", Bischoff exploded.  
  
"Hey, that's my line!", Austin admonished. "Oh, and by the way, I've had a few too many Steve-weisers, so I don't know if I got the address to the hotel right...", he pulled out a piece of paper from his jean shorts. "Now, is the Nelson Mandela 5-Star Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale where RAW's gonna be next week, or in South Africa?"  
  
Bischoff's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "You sent my...you sent my luggage, my stuff all the way to SOUTH AFRICA!?"  
  
Austin shrugged. "Well, there was a bunch of papers layin' round your office, and you didn't tell me where the RAW brand was stayin' at, so I just grabbed the one on the stack of papers labeled 'Hotel Reservations'"  
  
"THAT WAS MY VACATION SPOT!!", Bischoff screamed, before running out the door, yelling 'HEY! STOP THAT CAR! STOP THAT CAR! THAT'S MY STUFF!' .  
  
"Yeah, you go get that car, Eric! Run, RUN, little man! ", Austin called after him. The three shared hysterical laughter at Bischoff's plight.  
  
"Oh....oh my", Trish said, in between peals of laughter.  
  
Lita tried to sober up and told him, "Steve, Steve, seriously....that wasn't nice." She held the face for two seconds before cracking, "But it was damn sure funny!", and laughing hysterically.  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to hell", Austin shrugged, snickering. "But seriously, on a serious note, Lita, I want to personally welcome you back to RAW. It's been different without you. I know Trish missed you somethin' fierce, I missed you, the boys in the back are glad to have ya back, and the fans are, too, so, if there's anything you need, both of you, either of you, just head on down to my office, we can discuss stuff there."  
  
"Thanks, Steve, I appreciate that", she smiled. "And thank YOU again, for giving me the chance to do what I love to do again. It's been too long since I've been in the ring."  
  
"Well,don't worry, Li, I'm sure we can work off the ring rust", Trish grinned, patting her best friend on the back.  
  
"You're gonna have to, if you're gonna face Gail Kim and Molly Holly this Sunday at Unforgiven", Austin said. "Don't take these girls lightly, Lita. Trish knows what they can do together, and you've gotta be on your guard. Anything less than 100% and you're done."  
  
"I'll be ready, Steve. Don't you worry", Lita assured the 6-time WWE Champion.  
  
"I won't. I have faith in the both of ya. Just go out there Sunday, give it all you've got", he said as he turned to leave.  
  
"Steve", Lita called to him.  
  
Austin turned around. Lita took a moment, before standing on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on the Rattlesnake's cheek. Austin looked at her, stunned.  
  
"Thank you. For everything", Lita smiled warmly.  
  
Austin looked down at the ground for a moment. "Aw, hell, Lita, you're gonna make me blush like one of them sissy choir boys!" He looked up and smiled at her. "Just take care, okay? Both of you." He pointed at Trish.  
  
"We will. Thanks, Steve", Trish smiled.  
  
"Yeah, well, somewhere there's a six-pack in the city of Fayetteville with my name on it, so I'm gonna keep looking 'till I find it........G'Night, y'all." They waved goodbye as he walked out the door.  
  
"He looks cute when he blushes", Trish noted with delight.  
  
"Yeah, but he'll probably kill us if we tell anyone", Lita said, smiling.  
  
"But seriously...Li...I know these two girls. They almost ended my career tonight. Now that you're here, they're going to have you in their sights, too. Are you sure you're up for this on Sunday?"  
  
Lita rested a hand on the smaller woman's shoulder. "Trish, I've spent 17 months sitting on the sidelines while everyone else has been having all the fun. It's my time. I want me some action."  
  
"So...you're ready?", Trish asked .  
  
"Hells yeah, I'm ready", Lita smiled. "Those little hoes tried to take you out, but let's see how they do when it's all even. I've got your back, QueenBee. Always."  
  
"And I've got yours, too, Li", Trish promised solemnly. "I'll always be right there when you need me."  
  
"Ryde or Die", Lita said as she held out her hand, the Ozzy Ozbourne handsymbol formed there.  
  
"Ryde or Die", Trish smiled back. "BadGirls 4 life", she recited, as her own hand formed into that same handsymbol, and connected with Lita's fist in their own secret handshake. 'BadGirls' was their nickname for themselves. It was because they considered themselves to be the toughest, the baddest and the best athletes out of all the Divas in the WWE. . 'Ryde or Die' was their motto, their credo. It meant a vow to stick together, to tough out a nasty situation, to live their lives and careers and perform at their absolute best, because if they did anything less, it wasn't worth living it at all.  
  
This was their motto. This was who they were.  
  
BadGirls.  
  
"4 Life", Lita smiled back.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED......... 


	2. Part 2 The BadGirls Return

Chapter 2 - The BadGirls Return  
  
Sunday, September 21st, UNFORGIVEN 2003  
  
Molly Holly ranted and raved as she paced her locker room up and down, the WWE Women's Title nestled round her waist. She had been on the edge ever since Monday when Lita came back to RAW and spoiled her plans to kill Trish Stratus's career once and for all. Her neck still smarted from that Twist of Fate she recieved. AS well as the DDT.  
  
Molly knew Lita was strong, after all, she fought her before, but it was as if she had gotten twice as strong. Twice as fast. She barely had enough time to see her coming before Lita started wailing on her and Gail Kim . The redhead had taken them BOTH down without getting hit even once. And now she was back. And sooner or later, Lita would get that shot at the Women's title. HER title!  
  
"I can't BELIEVE the nerve of that...red-headed, trashy....BIMBO, Lita!", she fumed to Gail, who sat in a chair, lacing up her boots. "Who in the HELL does she think she is, anyway?! She had NO right to come down there and interfere with OUR business! And now Stone Cold Steve Austin gives her a brand new contract? Lita doesn't deserve to be in the same ring as me! Hell, Lita doesn't even belong in the same BUILDING as me!"  
  
"What's the big deal?", shrugged Gail. "We've beaten Trish when she's had different partners before, what's another dumb Diva to crush?"  
  
Molly whirled on Gail, stalking over and seizing the smaller girl by the throat and shoving her against the wall. Gail gasped in fright as she felt the breath in her being choked out, and the look in Molly's crazed brown eyes could kill.  
  
"Did that LitaBomb you got hit with last Monday jar loose the screws in your pretty little head?", Molly hissed. "This isn't just another dumb Diva, Gail! This...is Lita! Team Xtreme-Lita! The Lita that's gone toe-to- toe with Chyna and Jazz and taken them both to their limits! The Lita that beat my mentor, Dean Malenko! The Lita that held the Women's title for 6 months on her first reign! The Lita that's been trained by the Hardyz, Rey Mysterio and legendary luchadors from around the world! She's fast, strong, agile, and she can fly through the air like a DAMNED CRANE! She can pin you in a heartbeat before you draw a breath! She's a dangerous human being...And YOU'RE not taking her SERIOUSLY!"  
  
Molly released her grasp on Gail, leaving the panting and wheezing beauty staring at her, wide-eyed. "I thought you said she didn't belong in the same ring as you", Gail winced.  
  
Molly's ears reddened, realizing that she just contradicted herself. "She doesn't!", Molly pulled an about-face and resumed her pacing. "I'm Molly Holly, the Women's Champion! Of course Lita doesn't belong in the same ring as me. Neither does 'Trish Stratus'." She dragged out that name in a whiny, contemptous voice. "And tonight, we're going to prove it. We're going to take out both Trish Stratus AND Lita in the same ring at the same time! Gail, give me a range of what to target."  
  
Molly was referring to Gail's expertise as a kinesiologist, her major when she studied in Canada. She knew all about the various parts and ligaments of the human body. But more importantly, as Molly noted, if used correctly, that knowledge could be used to hurt the human body.  
  
"Well, Trish's neck and back should still be sore after our attacks the last few weeks, so we can go with that, but...", she trailed off.  
  
"But what?", Molly demanded, folding her arms across her chest.  
  
"I don't know about Lita. If she's been medically cleared, that means there's nothing wrong with her physically. That surgery she went through has been known to heal bones stronger and faster. And even if she did have a weakness, I don't see how we'll be able to exploit it. She moves too damn fast."  
  
"DAMN IT!", Molly yelled as she grabbed a nearby water bottle and hurled it the length of the locker room. She started pacing furiously. "There has to be a weakness. Something! There is a weakness and I won't stop until I find it!"  
  
She whirled and headed out the door, slamming it shut behind her .  
  
Gail shook her head. "She's so tense and irritable.......maybe she should hit the gym and drop those extra pounds."  
  
------------------------------  
  
Trish whistled happily to herself as she walk down the hallway. Things had taken such an upturn in her life, especially since Lita had returned to RAW. Now she felt like the giant bulls-eye on her back wasn't so visible anymore.  
  
She had her best friend, and perhaps the greatest female wrestler of their generation, Lita, back in the saddle and ready to team with her. Why shouldn't she feel giddy?  
  
She stopped by the soda machine to get a pair of bottled waters for them. Upon entering her dressing room, which Lita was sharing, she found Lita intensely wailing on a punching bag, her eyes narrowed in concentration.  
  
Trish stared, mezmerized at the display. Lita was moving so quickly, so gracefully, so fluidly, it was as if she were dancing. And yet, the heavy 'THUMP!'s on the punching bag made clear Lita's power and ferocity. It was a marvel to Trish to see how someone as strong as Lita was physically could look so deceptively beautiful, and yet, almost average looking .Like the girl next door type.........that is, if the girl next door was a hard-rock lovin', x-treme sportin', jabroni-beatin', magazine-cover gracin', bad ass chick.  
  
The racy redhead had a pair of headphones on, heavy-metal rock music blasting away at maximum volume as she continued her fast-paced workout. Trish recognized the music as Sevendust, the band that made the theme for this year's Unforgiven PPV, titled 'Enemy'. She had heard the music enough on the RAW promos to recognize it.  
  
After a few more moments, Lita ceased her workout, grasping the bag to a stop. She took a few deep breaths before she turned around. At the sight of Trish, she almost jumped up, startled.  
  
"Geez, Trish, make a little noise when you enter, will ya?", Lita shook her head, smiling.  
  
"I would've, but I doubt you'd have heard me anyway with that music blowing out what's left of your eardrums", Trish stuck her tongue out playfully. She tossed Lita a bottle of water, which Lita caught effortlessly with one hand.  
  
"Hey, better not use up all that energy, firecracker", Trish smirked as she casually leaned against her dresser. "We got a big match tonight. No use spending all that energy before going out there to whip Molly and Gail's asses."  
  
"I'm not worried", Lita sighed as she sat down on the floor, indian-style. "I've got a ton of pent-up energy. If anything, I'm just nervous about the crowd response to me after so long. I've been away for awhile, so--"  
  
"Li, they're gonna go nuts", Trish assured her with a smile. "They missed you almost as much as I did."  
  
"I'm just glad you're here with me, QueenBee", Lita smiled up at her best friend. "That definitely takes a lot of the butterflies away."  
  
"Hey, don't mention it, Li", Trish waved it off. "After you saved my ass last week? Psst, it's the least I could do. Besides, we're girls, right?"  
  
"Ryde or Die, QueenBee", Lita winked at her.  
  
"So", Trish said as she casually went to do some leg stretches. "We've got another half-hour before our match starts. What'cha want to do?"  
  
Lita stared up at the blonde, thoughtfully. "I've got an idea", she said. "Come on, sit down."  
  
Trish furrowed her brow in slight confusion. "Umm....okay." She sat down opposite Lita, Indian-style.  
  
"What are we doing?", she asked the redhead.  
  
"I want to show you a new training technique I learned while I've been away", Lita explained. "It's like an intense form of meditation."  
  
Trish cocked her head sideways slightly. "You never told me you were into that reflective stuff."  
  
"I wasn't", Lita said. "But a very famous Japanese Luchador taught me a few things when I went hiking in Mexico a few months back."  
  
"You met a Japanese guy in Mexico?", Trish raised an eyebrow. "That's hard to swallow."  
  
"Hey, I didn't ask questions, so long as he trained me, okay?", Lita shrugged. "Hand me that other MP3 Player on my bag, will you?"  
  
Trish tossed Lita the MP3 Player. Upon catching it, the redhead popped it open and inserted a new music CD. She handed it back to Trish.  
  
"Put it on", Lita instructed her.  
  
Shrugging, Trish did so, placing the headphoens slightly over her ears. "Oookay...so now what?", Trish asked, puzzled.  
  
"Let me explain how this works", Lita said. "The guy...some long, drawn out name, I can't remember...he explained to me that the best way to win anything is through use of your own inner power. In people, that power is called emotion. The problem is, emotions run so wild and make us so unpredictable that often those emotions can be turned and used against us, hindering us, clouding our judgement. But, a long time ago, centuries before, these mountain men up in the Northern Hills of Japan came up with a technique to use emotion and sound and focus it into something powerful. It takes a while to get it right, but once mastered, it can turn every emotion in your body, your love, your anger, your hate, your joy, your pain, anything...into a conductor of power in you. You can bottle it up, focus it, and at the right time when you need it, let it out and explode it. Set it loose. It gives your body added fire and energy to go when you need it."  
  
Trish scruntched her eyebrows. "So this guy said that feelings are like fuel to us?"  
  
Lita nodded. "Exactly. Trish, you're about to step into the ring with two women who hate you, who tried to end your career, maybe even your life last week. You have a long history with Molly and enough with Gail Kim to count. Somewhere in you, there's a waterwell of anger waiting to let loose. I'm going to teach you how to focus all of that rage and turn it into a positive. A strength."  
  
Trish nodded, eagerly listening.  
  
"First, hit the 'Play' Button on the MP3", Lita instructed. Instantly, the first chords to Sevendust's 'Enemy' started blaring. Lita hit her MP3 as soon as Trish hit hers so that the two would be in perfect sync. After having done so, Lita slipped her hands into Trish's, softly holding them. It was a way for her to guide Trish through her first session, a reassuring gesture.  
  
Lita continued, "Now, concentrate. Close your eyes...think back to all the times you've ever been hurt. All the times that Molly and Gail assaulted you, beat on you....every drop of pain you felt, every bit of helplessness, every ounce of raw frustration and anger...remember....remember the anguish you felt?...of being alone?...of facing week after week of beatings?...the smile on Bischoff's face when he saw you go down in a heap..."  
  
***Step up to me step up to me ***You wanna be a big time player its not to be  
  
Trish shut her eyes and squeezed them hard. She remembered, all right. Those moments had been burned forever in her memory. The pain of each blow, of each boot to the stomach, of every double-DDT...the anger of being defenseless against a two-on-one assault, of not finding a partner strong enuogh to back her up, if she was ever fortunate enough to HAVE a partner...  
  
***Look at all the snide ass actin like a wise ass ***I'll f*ck up your face, and you'll never look back  
  
The hurt echoed by each of her screams, her gasps, the hurt of being ultimately alone on RAW, of having no true friend to help, to lend a healing hand, or a shoulder to cry on whenever things got so out of hand that she cried herself to sleep on those sore, lonely nights...  
  
***So when you fall to the ground and finally get back to reality, ***Looking around, ***So tell me how does it feel to be the enemy  
  
.....the frustration of dealing with a vindictive and perverted General Manager in Bischoff, who booked her into impossible match situations, whose behavior towards her bordered on sexual harassment, who constantly held her away from the Women's title picture just because he could...  
  
***Step up to me, step up to me ***Step up to me, step up to me ***you wanna be a big time player its not to be  
  
....the anguish of being separated from her best friend for so long, or from her other friends, Jeff Hardy, Torrie Wilson and others, either by separation of shows or by leaving the business altogether...the humiliation she was forced to pass at the hands of vindictave, canniving individuals like Bischoff, like Vince McMahon, like Victoria and Steven Richards, like Teddy Long and Jazz...  
  
***look at your name, look at your face ***funny you're a loser with only yourself to blame  
  
.....she could still see that creepy, sleazy smile on Bischoff's face when he pinned her to the mat in that 'One-Night-Stand' match he set up for her the night after Backlash, when he almost forced her to spend some 'quality time' with him in his hotel room...or the ultimate insult, when he told Trish point blank to her face after she asked for a title shot that nobody cared about women's wrestling....  
  
***Catch ya f*cking hand now, standing on a stand now, ***Wanna be like me 'cause I'm real so you steal on your way to fame  
  
Lita felt the blonde's grip shift and clench hard. She studied Trish's face and saw an expression of bubbling anger as the 4-time women's champ sat there, her eyes still shut. Lita shut her own eyes, feeling Trish's own anger and using it to kindle her own, added to her own thoughts...the broken neck...the painful rehabilitation process...Bischoff's humiliating public firing of her in April...the long, hard months of uncertainty...  
  
***Never gonna be never gonna see ***Your name on the lights you can always dream what your gonna be ***Clean up my sh*t...sucker (unemployment)  
  
.....the rage and fustration of watching her best friend Trish getting her ass kicked week after week by whatever reigning Bitch-of-the-Week stepped in, and not being able to lift a damned finger to stop it...  
  
***So when you fall to the ground and finally get back to reality, ***Looking around, ***So tell me how does it feel to be the enemy  
  
***So when you fall to the ground and finally get back to reality, ***Looking around, ***So tell me how does it feel to be the enemy  
  
...losing her friend Jeff Hardy to life's twists and turns and the horrible breakup with her jerk boyfriend Matt Hardy while still in rehab...the rumors that she was finished with wrestling...the idea that she would never again see the Women's title...  
  
***(Step) ***Step up to me ***Step up to me ***(Step)  
  
The music pumped in both of their ears, the lyrics and beat of the song fueling their rage. With every note, every chord, every word sung, their raw, undiluted anger intensified within them into a pure rage.  
  
***So when you fall to the ground and finally get back to reality, ***Looking around, ***So tell me how does it feel to be the enemy  
  
"Can you feel it?", Lita asked, her eyes still shut. "Feel how your rage, your hurt, your anger is starting to grow, to breathe?..."  
  
Trish shuddered as the powerful wave of emotion grew and expanded withing her. She could feel it. Solidifying, molding, shaping, until it wasn't simply an intangible, but real and raw and corporeal inside of her; as if another living being had taken form in her own body.  
  
***So when you fall to the ground and finally get back to reality, ***Looking around, ***So tell me how does it feel to be the enemy  
  
"Oh, God", she breathed, small beads of perspiration starting to form on her forehead, the intensity of each passing moment almost too much to bear.  
  
"Don't fight it, Trish", Lita gently said. "Embrace it. That bond is the source of both your finest and worst moments...you've always felt it, even when you didn't know what it was...it's in you...lying in wait for you all this time, until you could finally reach out and grab it."  
  
***(Your the enemy) ***Step up to me (What)  
  
Trish's breathing intensified as she felt her own strain to keep control on herself. She had never experienced anything as intense on a spiritual level or emotional level as this. It felt as if she were trying to put out a fire with her own hands; like their was a reactor core in her heart that was about to explode and destroy her from within at any given moment...  
  
"Grab it, Trish", Lita said, her voice remaining calm and soothing, despite the beads of perspiration forming on her own forehead. "Don't be afraid of it...this is your power...it belongs to you...and you to it...grab it..."  
  
Trish felt herself on some level moving closer to this power within her, felt herself come even closer to it, feeling the heat, the searing intensity off her own rage, closer until she thought her insides would melt, until her hands would become but putty under the heat...  
  
***Step up to me(what)  
  
"Grab it", Lita said again.  
  
Trish felt herself extend towards it, gravitating towards this irresistable bond of power, of rage and anger...  
  
"Grab it."  
  
Until at last, she reached out and seized that power by the throat, ignoring the blinding pain, ignoring every nerve ending in her body screaming at her to release it. For the first few moments, she winced in pain, gasping as she felt herself connecting with this strange force, this power that had lay dormant inside her for so long...  
  
***Step up to me step up to me ***You wanna be a big time player its not to be!  
  
And then...nothing.  
  
It was as if everything had suddenly cut to black, the fire beneath her hands, the burning pain, everything...gone.  
  
"Open your eyes, Trish", Lita's voice softly instructed.  
  
When the blonde's hazel eyes fluttered open, Lita's eyes were staring right back into them. Lita noted the difference in the gaze in her best friend's eyes. Almost a dangerous glow emitted from them, an aura of bottled rage, like a time bomb. just waiting to explode, and yet, a calmness and levity about them. Almost like a guise to hide what truly lay beneath.  
  
It was the same gaze Lita always got after her meditation sessions.  
  
"You okay?", she asked, her voice calm but with a note of concern.  
  
Trish nodded, almost stoically, a very un-Trish-like response.  
  
"What you're feeling right now", Lita explained, "it's normal. Your first time's always the most intense. It'll get easier with practice. Within time, you'll be able to harness all that energy without any sideeffects, no pain, no change of self."  
  
"I feel...I feel different", Trish said, looking down at her hands. "Stronger, I dunno."  
  
"It's the inner power", Lita said, smiling slightly. "It's all the raw anger, the pain, the hurt, the hatred, the love, everything you ever felt that drove you nuts...solidified into one. By embracing it, you accepted it as part of who you are, Trish. That strength you're feeling....it was always there. It just needed to be woken up."  
  
A knock on their door was followed by a muffled voice saying, "3 minutes, Ladies. You're up next."  
  
Trish and Lita exchanged glances with each other.  
  
"You sure you're up for this?", Lita asked.  
  
Trish smirked. "Shouldn't I be asking YOU that same question?"  
  
"Shouldn't you know what my response would be?", Lita smirked back.  
  
The women both nodded and flashed dangerously sparkling smiles.  
  
"Hells yeah", they both said simultaneously, before they stood up and walked out of the dressing room, primed, pumped, and ready to take out some ruthless agression on Molly Holly and Gail Kim.  
  
------------------------  
  
WWE Unforgiven : Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly and Gail Kim  
  
Trish stood outside the ring, poised and ready for action. Her theme music was blaring all over the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvannia, the site of Unforgiven, darkened except for a few pink lights strobing around as part of her light show entrance. She saw Gail Kim and Molly Holly standing pat in the ring with smug looks on their faces, no doubt licking their chops to get ahold of her again.  
  
'Good, let them', Trish thought to herself, smiling back dangerously. 'Boy, are they in for a nasty little surprise...once my girl gets here. '  
  
Then, Lita's theme music hit, at which the fans went nuts over. The lights dimmed and purple and blue strobe lights started flashing furiously. And finally, the woman of the hour came out, rocking out on her own theme music. The instant Lita came through the curtain, the crowd stood on its feet in a thunderous standing ovation.  
  
"This is special, folks", JR announced from the broadcast position. "And here comes a very special young woman! After months of rehabilitaion, the surgery, the broken vertebrae in her neck, being fired by Bischoff last April, we are witnessing the return of the X-treme Diva, one of the most popular Superstars in the history of this business! We are witnessing the return...of Lita!"  
  
"She's back, JR!", King enthusiastically said. "And so are her puppies!"  
  
Trish smiled to herself as she noted the faces of Gail and Molly, upon laying eyes on Lita walking down the rampway, fall from ones of smug confidence to ones of uncertainty and...was that fear in their eyes? Well, why not? Hell, she wouldn't want to face Lita AND herself at the same time if she were them.  
  
Lita fed off the electricity of the crowd, sucking in every moment, burning it into her memory. It had been a long time since she had been able to walk down this aisle to do what she loved to do, and now, after all the drama, after all the pain and disappointment, 17 long months out of her life, she was finally walking down to the ring once again. It was one of those surreal moments that one wishes they could live again and again, without pause, forever.  
  
Her eyes connected with Trish's, a silent understanding between the two passing in that gaze.  
  
"Ready?", Trish smiled at her, burning with anticipation of entering that ring.  
  
"Ryde or die", Lita winked back, holding out her handsymbol towards Trish.  
  
"BadGirls 4 life", Trish said, pounding Lita's fist in that same handsymbol, their secret handshake.  
  
And with that, the two most dominant Divas in the history of the WWE slid into the ring in a heartbeat. The roar of the crowd upon seeing them pose atop the turnbuckles officially confirmed what they already knew: the BadGirls were back.  
  
Of course, Gail and Molly tried to get the upperhand with a sneak attack on them in the early going of the match. But Lita's strength and Trish's quickness overturned that strategy quickly, and soon, both Gail and Molly found themselves being whipped into the turnbuckle and being the double victim of a Poetry-In-Motion clothesline, vintage Team X-treme.  
  
Gail and Molly tried to regroup on the outside, to collect their thoughts. Lita and Trish exchanged knowing glances between them, and simultaneously hit a pair of baseball slides onto the pair of vindictive Divas, knocking them down face first on the outside.  
  
Trish smiled as she saw Lita's eyes glowing with joy. She could tell that her best friend was truly enjoying this. And she was very glad that she was. After all she had to go through just to get back in the ring, she deserved to be back, and to be having fun while at it made her comeback even better.  
  
Molly Holly hopped into the ring, incensed and embarrased at Lita and Trish's clever move. 'This red-headed bitch is ruining EVERYTHING!', she thought, angrily. After screaming at Lita, who cockily dared her to come closer, the Women's champion shoved Lita with as much strength as she could muster.  
  
Lita barely moved two feet, however, the result of those intense body workout over the last few months, and was smiling mishievously.  
  
"Ooo-Kay! You want some, Molly? Come on, let's go!", the redheaded beauty smirked as she closed the gap between her and Molly quickly. But Molly, upon seeing the dangerous look in Lita's eyes, panicked and tagged in a stunned (and apprehensive) Gail to take the beating for her. Lita stared at Molly, and back to Trish, incredulously, as if to say with her eyes, 'Did she just punk out on me?' Trish shrugged and rolled her eyes in response, as if to answer back, 'Did you expect anything less from Molly Holly?' Shrugging, Lita turned her attention to Gail, motioning with her hand for the rookie Diva to take her best shot.  
  
Gail was overmatched and undersized against Lita, who easily tossed the smaller girl around like a salad. After hitting a suplex, Lita nimbly used a hand-spring, a-la The Rock, to get back to her feet, drawing 'OOH!'s and 'AAH!'s from the crowd. She saw Trish practically begging her to tag in, her eyes burning with excitement. Smiling, Lita quickly made the tag and the 4-time Women's champion was all over Gail Kim, hitting her with everything from chops to punches to a nasty Chick Kick right to the face. But Molly broke up the cuont with a well placed elbow to Trish's head.  
  
Then, the double-team strategy started. Gail would lure Trish into a corner, where Molly would be lying in wait, then the twisted pair would start double-teaming the blonde bombshell. Lita made the stupid mistake of trying to help, which would only distract the referee into loking the other way while Gail and Molly continued to work over Trish.  
  
Trish winced in pain as she slowly made her way to the ropes. She knew that that bitch Molly had come up with the idea of working over her neck and back. It was a well-laid plan. She had to make a tag to Lita before her back gave out, and she knew it. But Gail and Molly continously dragged her back to the center of the ring for more punishment.  
  
At last, Trish finally fought out of a Gail Kim missed dropkick and managed to crawl her way over to Lita, extending her hand desperately. When the tag was made, Lita jumped in, letting loose with every thing she had. Her inner power was fully unleashed as she took down both Molly and Gail with a pair of crunching clotheslines. She took down Gail with an incredible Bicycle Kick maneuver she had perfected when she was training, then she tackled Molly with a Monkey Flip-turned-Knuckle press, wailing on the woman who had orchestrated the attacks on her best friend for weeks with unbridled aggression.  
  
Sensing Gail's presense nearby, Lita whipped around and clotheslined Gail again, before picking her up and setting up the rookie for her newest move, the Litabomb. One hard powerbomb later, Gail was out cold on the mat. Lita smiled to herself as she stood tall over her opponent, admiring the effectiveness of her new move, which she had spent much time fine-tuning.  
  
However, that was her mistake, as Molly came from behind with a clubbing blow to her neck. Lita instantly crumbled to her knees, wincing in pain as she let out a loud groan from the impact. Her neck started flaring with unreal pain and she felt her focus start to blur. Trish gasped as she saw her friend go down quickly, fearing the worst had happened: that Molly's blow had reaggravated Lita's neck injury.  
  
"LI!", she called out. "Are you okay?!"  
  
Sensing the opportunity, Molly smiled evilly as she climbed the top rope, looking to finish off the meddling redhead once and for all with a Molly-Go- Round, as Lita still was down on her knees, clutching her neck.  
  
Trish watched this from her corner, and felt her fear for her friend's safety melt away into black anger. Molly did that on purpose. She knew she did. She wasn't just trying to beat Lita...she was trying to end her career!  
  
Just like she almost did to Trish.  
  
'Nobody....messes....with MY....BEST....FRIEND!', the thought exploded in her brain.  
  
Trish felt her own inner power, her seething, burning hatred for Molly Holly explode inside her as she leapt over the ropes in blinding speed, making a beeline for Molly, who never saw the blonde coming. Molly gasped in surprise as she felt Trish's powerful legs clamp onto her head, as the 4- time Women's Champion used every ounce of power she had to send the reigning Women's champion head-over-heels with a loud BOOM! onto the mat, a victim of the Stratus-fear, the upside-down turnbuckle hurricanrana Trish had successfully used in the past.  
  
By then, Lita had successfully made it to her feet. Seeing Molly writhing in pain on the ground, she looked up at Trish with a stunned expression on her face.  
  
"What? Couldn't let you have ALL the fun, Li", Trish shrugged impishly.  
  
Lita smiled. "Thanks, QueenBee. Good looking out."  
  
Without another word, Lita grabbed a dazed and groggy Molly Holly, who had stumbled onto her feet, from behind and hit her with a reverse Twist of Fate, immobilizing the canniving Women's Champion.  
  
Trish kicked Gail's prone body out of the ring as added insurance, and stood guard over Molly's body, in case she tried to move.  
  
"You know what's coming now, don't you?", Lita asked Trish, who nodded.  
  
"Go on, get up there...bring it home for us, Li", she smiled.  
  
Lita smiled back as she ascended the top turnbuckle, to the delight of the crowd, who knew exactly what was coming next.  
  
"Oh, baby! How long has it been since we've seen this from Lita, JR?", King yelped with excitement.  
  
"Oh, my God! Is she gonna--Lita is fearless!", JR yelled incredulously.  
  
'Come on, Lita, you've done this before, like, a thousand times', Lita thought to herself as she readied her body for flight, her stomach twisting in knots and her neck aching with pain. 'Just like ridin' a bike, right? Just like ridin' a bike--'  
  
And then, her body flew effortlessly through the air, connecting hard on Molly with a WHAM!  
  
"Lita with a Lita-sault! The cover--1,2,3, that's all! Lita has just pinned the Women's Champion!", JR yelled from his announcer spot.  
  
Lita barely registered the ring of the bell and her own theme music above the roar of the crowd, as Trish picked up her friend gently, but with such enthusiasm.  
  
"YOU DID IT!", she squealed in delight.  
  
"No...WE did it, QueenBee", Lita shook her head and smiled.  
  
"The winners of this bout....the team of Trish Stratus and LITA!", Lilian Garcia announced to the roaring approval of over 16,000 screaming fans.  
  
"It's official...Welcome back, Li!", Trish beamed as she pulled her best friend into a tight hug. Lita hugged back almost as tightly, before wincing.  
  
"Trish...Trish, ease up a little, before you crush my ribs", Lita laughed.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Li! Are you okay?", Trish asked, concern filing her eyes.  
  
"Fine, I'm fine, QueenBee", Lita shrugged it off. "My mouth is all busted up and my neck hurts like a bitch, but...it was worth it", Lita trailed off as she raised hers and Trish's hands up in victory to a cheering crowd.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here", Trish said, looking back at the unconscious bodies of Molly Holly and Gail Kim. "Let the janitors worry about picking up the trash around here", she spat.  
  
Lita arched her eyebrows, laughing. "Me-oww! When did YOU get such a sharp pair of claws?"  
  
"Right about the time those bitches tried to end my career AND break my best friend's neck again", Trish said, scowling after them.  
  
"They can't hurt you anymore", Lita reminded her as the duo walked down the rampway. "It's over, Queenie. WE won, THEY lost. Let it go."  
  
"I'll never it go", Trish shook her head. "I hope we broke something of theirs, tonight."  
  
Lita laughed it off. "Come on, tigress. Let's go grab a bite."  
  
"What a combination these two make!", JR gushed. "Can you imagine the impact these two are going to make, how the women's division is going to shake up with these two lovely ladies side-by side? Two of the most popular women's champions in WWE history together?"  
  
"The Diva of X-treme and a 100% Stratusfaction-guaranteed, 4 time Women's Champion? Together?? Just imagine the possibilites, JR!", King was practically drooling.  
  
"I don't know what possibilities YOU'RE imagining, King", JR shook his head, smiling. "But the fact of the matter is this: Lita is back! She is back! And she's better than ever! And she has Trish Stratus walking side-by- side with her! Molly Holly's days as Women's Champion, Molly and Gail's days of being at the top, are perhaps about to come to a crashing, abrupt end! And neither Molly, Gail and perhaps even Eric Bischoff are going to be happy about that!"  
  
The camera closed in on Molly's face, still unconscious in the center of the ring, and on Gail Kim's limp form outside the ring.  
  
"You said it, JR!", King said. "Molly, you might want to consider sleeping with that belt from now on, because your days as Women's Champion are numbered, and it's only a matter of time before one of these two LOVELY ladies takes that title away from you! Lita's BACK! Woo-hoo!!"  
  
The two best friends posed at the entrance way one more time, to the roar of the fans chanting "Lita! Lita!" and "Let's Go Trish!" at the same time.  
  
"Welcome home, Li", she whispered to the redhead, smiling.  
  
Lita felt the emotion of the moment overtake her as her eyes glistened.  
  
"It's good to BE home", she grinned, before acknowledging the crowd one more time and leaving to the back, her best friend by her side.  
  
Indeed, the BadGirls were back...and neither Molly Holly nor Eric Bischoff were going to be pleased.  
  
To Be Continued.... 


	3. Part 3 Eyes of Madness

A/N: For the sake of creative license, I have decided to slightly alter the results of WWE Unforgiven's matches and the following RAW's afterwards. I think that so far, I've been true to the product as far as I've needed to be to establish the base for this tale.  
  
Just so ya know! :)  
  
A/N 2: How HOT is Lita knowadays, huh? :) New look, new moves, same bad-ass chick! Check out her autobiography on sale this week!  
  
(BTW, is it just me, or do Coach and Al SNow's announcing make anyone else want to take their finger, drill it through their ears, and swirl it around in their eardrums? God, RAW needs to get JR and King back as soon as possible!)  
  
Chapter 3 - Eyes of Madness  
  
Eric Bischoff sat there in the cushy leather seat of his skybox office and simmered silently as he watched the conclusion of the women's tag team match, clenching his fists and scowling.  
  
Once again, Lita and Trish had defied his edict, once AGAIN the pair of bombshell brawlers had defied all expectations, and once AGAIN, the two had put an exclamation point into what was already turning out to be a horrible night for him. JR and King had pulled out a victory over Coach and Al Snow, despite interference from Chris Jericho, when Rob Van Dam came down, nailed Y2J with a Van Daminator and distracted Coach long enough for JR to roll up the obnoxious puppet-announcer with a School Boy for the win to keep King and JR's jobs on RAW secure. Later, Goldberg would beat his chosen champion, Triple H, for the World HeavyWeight Title and the Dudley Boyz had won their tag team titles back from Le Resistance after another edict from Stone Cold made the handicap tag team table match for the belts.  
  
'DAMN that Austin!', thought Bischoff, as he slammed his glass of expensive Merlot wine onto the table. 'Smart-mouthed, redneck, Texan Rattlesnake son- of-a-bitch! He's screwed me again!'  
  
He KNEW that Austin was probably laughing his ass off at the thought of the look on Bischoff's face now. But especially because of the women's tag team match. Because of the fact that Lita and Trish Stratus, two woman he made no secret about lusting after, one who he fired personally after defying him and spurning his advances and another who rejected him, CHICK-KICKED him in the face and was trying to ALSO end the career of for her actions...had yet AGAIN beaten his girls, Molly Holly and Gail Kim.  
  
And now, he was stuck in a bind. Lita. Lita. LitaLitaLitaLita DAMN her! He had read every single line, inch and detail of that contract, hoping for a subclause, an article, a section, ANYTHING that could give him leverage. He had his lawyers work 'round-the-clock for a loophole that would allow him to rid himself of the fiery diva once-and-for-all. But it turned out that Austin was right. THe contract WAS iron-clad. He couldn't fire Lita, he couldn't suspend her, and if she performed well enough, she would legally be entitled to a women's title shot...and the way that Lita was performing, that was inevitably going to come sooner, rather that later. In addition, the contract she was signed to was quite lengthy and very lucrative, already in the $2 million dollar range, astronomical for a Superstar, led alone for a DIVA, in addition to the promise of high-profile endorsements, hefty bonuses for every title match she won, and a good cut on whatever Lita-related merchandise was sold...and given Lita's popularity, and her new autobiography due out, that was a LOT of money out of Bischoff's pocket.  
  
Both Lita and Trish were now Numbers 1 and 1a, respectively, as far as salary was concerned, among the WWE divas, and were both part of the RAW brand. That meant that Bischoff would have to foot the bill for both of them. Granted, both were bona-fide money makers, but that didn't mean much to Bischoff. He'd have rather them kowtow to his presence, like Gail Kim and Molly Holly, and do his bidding (among other things) than to bring in the money. Instead, both of them had individually defied him and embarrased him. He couldn't get rid of Lita, and now that meant Trish was untouchable as well, because he knew damn well from what he had seen, that together, the two were practically unstoppable. Within the span of a few minutes, they had decimated the Women's champion AND Bischoff's personal favorite Diva like a pair of amateurs from backyard wrestling. He shuddered at the thought of either Trish or Lita, but ESPECIALLY Lita, holding that Women's title belt again. Even though he knew DAMN well that Molly Holly had all the marketability of day-old liverwurst, seeing Trish or Lita as the champion would have meant that once again, the two strong-minded Divas would have shoved his edict, his predictions, his order and his authority right back up his ass, humiliating him once again.  
  
And if there was one thing the sinister, black-hearted co-GM hated more than anything, it was to be humiliated. ESPECIALLY by women.  
  
'Alright, Lita and Trish', he snarled to himself. 'Bask in the moment. Live it. Breathe it. Experience it. Revel in your glorious little victory, my lovelies...because it'll be the LAST time you get to celebrate like that on MY show! And when I'm done with you both, ESPECIALLY you, Lita, you'll be BEGGING me on your knees to end your miserable careers, and only THEN, I'll crush you both in the palms of my OWN hands!'  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Gail Kim sat there in the locker room, wincing as she placed an ice-pack onto her head. The effects of that Litabomb were not something to take lightly.  
  
Molly sat opposite her, clutching her neck painfully. Between the Stratus- fear hurricanrana and the Twist of Fate, her neck and head were on fire from pain.  
  
"DAMN that Lita!", she cursed as she winced painfully clutching her ribs. "Ever since she came back, she's been a pain in my ass!"  
  
'That's a pretty big pain', Gail thought to herself.  
  
"And that little slut Trish Stratus...everything was perfect, I could've finished off that redheaded bitch right there, until Trish stuck her pretty little nose in my business again...ooooh, I hate her. I hate Lita. I hate them both!", she snarled as she grabbed a nearby towel and threw it on the floor.  
  
"Let's just give it up", Gail said, easing back into the icepack. "Maybe we could've taken out Trish before when she had crappy partners, but now with Lita there? She's too good, Molly. And with Trish as a partner, we practically couldn't touch them. And to be honest, I'm not looking forward to getting another Litabomb anytime soon. Two is enough for me. Let's just count our losses and let it go, huh?  
  
Molly looked up at the young Diva with an incredulous look. "LET...it...GO?! And how soon do you think it'll be before Lita and Trish start to challenge for the women's title, Gail? HUH?! They're just maybe a RAW or two away from doing that!"  
  
"Then just go to Bischoff, he'll give you some cover", Gail suggested, non- chalantly.  
  
"Not for long! With Stone Cold Steve Austin and him at odds, Austin would just give a title match to either one of them just to spite Bischoff", Molly fumed. "We have to take them out, and we have to take them out NOW, before they get a shot at MY title!"  
  
Gail looked at her like she had grown two extra heads. "Are you insane?! Maybe you don't remember 'cause you got hit pretty hard, but Lita and Trish just finished handing us our asses out there! I'm not going up against those two again, no way!"  
  
"You're my partner, Gail!", Molly said, anger rising in her voice. "If I'm in trouble, then it's your job to help me out!Do you have ANY idea how far the women's division will fall if either one of those little skanks wins MY title?"  
  
"Sorry, Molly, but, frankly, this isn't my problem", Gail said as she reached for her duffel bag. "I'd love to help you out, really, but if your'e going up against them again and dragging me to take another ass- kicking, then you're on your own this time--"  
  
Her sentence was caught in her throat as Molly leapt across the room in an instant and seized the rookie by the her neck. Molly held the younger Diva's neck in an iron-like death grip, causing Gail to drop her bag and be pinned against the wall, gasping for air.  
  
"On my own, huh?!", Molly growled, a frightening sound emitting from her throat. "Listen up, Kim, and listen good. If I succeed, you succeed. If I go down, I take your pretty little ass WITH me! We're partners, Gail, understand?! That means wherever I go, YOU go! If you walk out on me, I swear that my face will be the LAST thing you EVER see! GOT IT?!"  
  
Gail whimpered and gurgled as Molly's hand squeezed tighter around her throat. Gail looked up with wide eyes into Molly's, seeing all trace of reason, of rational, of sanity vanished. Only the desperate stare of a desperate, crazed woman remained. Gail coughed, panic setting in as everything started to fade black...until at last she uttered a strangled 'Y- yee-ees' from her throat.  
  
" 'Yes' WHAT?!", Molly said,gripping even harder.  
  
Gail gasped desperately for breath, before choking out, "I'll....h-help...y- youuu...pleeease...k-kiilling...m-me..."  
  
Molly held her grip on her throat for a few more seconds, whether to emphasize her point or simply out of sick, deranged pleasure was uncertain, before at last releasing the hold, letting the younger girl slump to the floor, gasping loudly and coughing, her face flushed red and her eyes shut in pain.  
  
Molly knelt down to her partner, suddenly running a hand through Gail's long hair, stroking it gently, a stark contrast to the treatment she dispensed only moments before.  
  
"Oh, Gail", she cooed softly . "I'm so sorry...but you know you shouldn't make me mad like that...bad things happen when you get me mad."  
  
She leaned towards Gail's head, closer to her ear, Molly's lips just barely touching, her breath teasing the upper lobe on Gail's ear. "You'll see...soon, we'll have both Trish AND Lita out of our lives and out of the WWE forever...and we can reshape the women's division as we see fit. There'll be no one to stop us...no one to stop me...but it only works if we're both in...or it doesn't work...You're my secret weapon, Gail..you're the one who's going to help me take out both Trish and Lita once...and for all...."  
  
She planted a kiss above Gail's forehead, making the young Toronto native's eyes fly open in surprise.  
  
"Tomorrow night, Gail...tomorrow night we destroy the X-treme Diva and Miss 'Stratus-faction Guaranteed' once...and for all", Molly chuckled gleefully as she suddenly and abruptly stood up and walked put the door, taking her women's title with her.  
  
Gail stared after her with wide eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. "My God...she's lost her f*cking mind", she whispered in horror.  
  
------------------------------------ POP!  
  
The cork on the champaigne bottle whizzed through the air as Austin let out a celebratory 'whoop!' to punctuate it .  
  
"Now, normally, I'm a beer guy, as y'all would know by now", he explained as he poured the champaigne into glasses for everyone. "But, seeing how this is a momentous occasion, and seeing how I DID find this in Eric's office just lyin' around, I figured, 'Oh, what the hell, Stone Cold? Let the champaigne flow!'"  
  
Lita and Trish applauded and howled as the glasses went around. It seemed that after the show, Lita had more than a few well-wishers coming back to Trish's locker room and greet her. Austin had arranged a little surprise gathering of people at the end of the show. JR, Jerry "the King" Lawler, Terri, Rob Van Dam, the three Dudleyz, Lilian Garcia, Jacqueline and even Goldberg had come to this welcome-back party. It was quite shocking and flattering for Lita to see all these people here to celebrate her in-ring return.  
  
"Lita, I have to tell you, that of all my years in this business, I have never met a woman quite like you before", JR said to the redhead. "After watching you come back from the surgery, the long months of rehab, Bischoff's power trip, you STILL managed to come back...I'm proud of you, Lita. REAL proud. We all are."  
  
"Thanks, Jim", Lita said as she gave him a friendly hug. "That means a lot to me, believe me."  
  
"You done good, Lita. Real good", Jacqueline nodded.  
  
"You showed some guts out there, girl", Rob Van Dam smiled. "Quality stuff."  
  
"Thank you", Lita acknowledged them.  
  
"Here's to Bischoff getting another ulcer, thanks to the two hottest Divas in the WWE today!", BuhBuh Ray Dudley raised his glass high to a loud cheer.  
  
"Testify!", D'von whooped.  
  
"Whoa,whoa,whoa,whoa, hold on a second", Stone Cold said over the top of all those voices. "Seein' as I AM the co-GM of RAW, seein' as how I AM the one who signed Lita back to RAW, and seein' as how both Trish and Lita done whooped Gail and Molly's asses tonight, therefore AGAIN stickin' it to my colleague, Eric Bischoff...I've got four words for ya both..", he said as he looked to Lita and Trish.  
  
Everyone waited in anticipation.  
  
Stone Cold smiled. "I'll Drink To That!" He clanged his glass with both Lita and Trish's glasses.  
  
"YEAH!!", everyone roared in excitement, raising their glasses in a toast to both Trish and Lita.  
  
Trish turned to the gushing redhead. "Feeling good, aren't ya, Li?", she smiled.  
  
"Feeling good would be taking it down a notch", Lita laughed. "I just have to say this to all of you", Lita said directing her address to the whole party. "Thank you. Thank you all for coming here, some of you probably missing out flights for this--"  
  
"Yeah, could you speed it up, Lita, the meter's running on my ride", Terri joked, drawing laughter from the group.  
  
"Anyhoo", Lita laughed back, "Thank you. This means a lot to me, after everything I've gone through to get back here...just to see all of you here right now, happy to see me back, it-it means so much...and I'm grateful, I really am. But there's one person in this room right now, whom I have to thank most of all for everything. She was the first one who called me after my surgery, she was one of the few people I've kept in constant touch with while in rehab, and even after I was fired the first time...and she saved my ass out there tonight, when Molly had it out for me...she's probably one of the best friends I've ever had...so Trish", she said, turning to her best friend with tears in her eyes. "...Thank you so much, QueenBee."  
  
Trish felt tears spring to her own eyes as she pulled Lita into a touching embrace, to the applause of the entire party. "Anytime, Li", she whispered in Lita's ear. "Anytime."  
  
"So, what's next for you guys?", Goldberg asked, his newly-won World Heavyweight Title worn proudly above his shoulder. "Thinking about getting into the hunt for championship gold?"  
  
"We'll see", Lita said, wiping away a stray tear. "Though knowing Molly, she'll be ducking me and Trish, hiding behind Bischoff until she thinks we'll go away."  
  
"Word of advise: Keep hunting her down", Goldberg advised both ladies. "I've tracked Triple H for months, and he ducked behind Bischoff, too...but I stayed on him, I never let him get a moment's rest, and now look what I've got for my efforts", he said, looking down proudly at the giant gold belt on his shoulder.  
  
"Thanks for the advise, Bill", Trish smiled. "We'll keep that in mind."  
  
"Besides", Stone Cold clearred his throat. "Don't forget, Bischoff's not the only GM around here. I'm more than willing to grant either of ya a title shot. Hell, I'll book a Triple Threat or a Fatal Four Way for the Women's title with y'all in in tomorrow night, if ya want."  
  
"Hmmm, thanks but no thanks, Steve", Lita shook her head. "I think I need a few more tune-up matches, just to really shake out the rust, before I get in the hunt for the title again. Besides, I want to earn my shot at it."  
  
"And I think I'll just stick to teaming with Lita for now", Trish added. "I love teaming with her, we've got some catching up to do and besides, after all the time having a bulls-eye on my back, I just want to take a tiny bit of time off from that before I go out for my 5th world title."  
  
"Alright,alright, I respect that", Austin nodded. "That's good thinkin' on both of your parts. Just remember, when either of you want that shot, just head on down to my office and we can work something out."  
  
"Thanks, Steve", Lita smiled warmly at him again.  
  
Austin looked at her wearily. "You're not gonna peck me on the cheek again, are ya? If I start blushin' in front of eerybody, someone's gonna have to get their ass whipped so I can regain my rep."  
  
Lita laughed. "Don't worry. The last thing we need is a drunken Rattlesnake stunning everyone in sight."  
  
"I ain't drunk", Austin said defensively. "I'm...pleasantly buzzed."  
  
Trish and Lita looked at each other and smiled, exchanging an 'Ooo-kay!' glance between them.  
  
"Sure", they both drawled, laughing.  
  
The party noise died down suddenly and without warning when two uninvited guests had walked though the doorway.  
  
Victoria stood at the entrance, a cold glare on her face. Everyone exchanged confused stares between themselves and the psychotic Diva. Dressed in her black spandex bodysuit with spider-web designs, she was, to no surprise, accompanied by her idiot boyfriend, Steven Richards, with his ridiculous pink tights on him, a goofy look on his face, as usual.  
  
Stone Cold glanced at them warily, and then exchanged a look of concern with Trish and Lita.  
  
Trish's eyes widened for a moment, a slight look of apprehension on her face, before she turned serious. It did not escape Lita's notice. She knew all about Victoria and Trish's feud. She sat at home for months watching Trish's war with the beautiful, yet delusional Diva, which was one of the hardest to sit through. She winced to herself as she remembered the chair shot Trish took over the head from Victoria, and the brutal hardcore match at Survivor Series, and the trash can shots and broom stick attacks and chokeholds Trish suffered through in the Chicago Street Fight earlier in the year on RAW. Lita took a step closer to her friend, a protective gesture as Victoria made her way towards the pair.  
  
Sucking in a loud, audible breath, the raven-haired Victoria leaned right into Trish's face, a look of malice, hatred and contempt marred on her otherwise attractive features. It was a look of absolute hatred. Trish stared back, eyes narrowed, defiantly staring back into the demonic eyes of one of her deadliest adversaries.  
  
Then, abruptly, after a few moments, Victoria turned her neck so fast towards Lita's direction, it would have made the onlooking observer have whiplash. For a moment, Lita was surprised, caught offguard by the movement. Victoria took two slow, deliberate steps until she was face to face with the X-treme Diva. Lita's brown eyes locked with Victoria's black ones, an intense stare radiating from the psycho. Victoria's left eye slightly twitched, her stare towards Lita cold and hard like ice. Lita's eyes narrowed, and she stared back at Victoria with a fire in her eyes. She never met the Diva personally, but judging from the way she so violently attacked her best friend for months, Lita knew everything she ever needed to know about this nut-job. The gleam in Lita's eyes, a silent, yet feral spark, almost dared Victoria to make a move.  
  
The entire party held their breath...until Victoria gave a small, twisted smirk to Lita, then strangely backed away, retreating back towards Steven, only two feet from her.  
  
BuhBuh Ray and D'von suddenly stepped in front of the twisted pair, their faces stony and business-like. "Excuse me", BuhBuh Ray said in a quiet, but hard voice. "But can we see your invitation?" "Last I checked, this was a private party", D'von added gruffly.  
  
Steven and Victoria both flashed their sickly smiles before walking backwards out the door, Victoria's eyes locked on both Lita and Trish...but staring hard into Lita's eyes. The look in Victoria's eyes sent a chill up Lita's spine. God, no wonder Trish was so wigged by that woman...Victoria wasn't just acting like she was crazy: she really WAS stone-cold crazy!  
  
After they were gone, Lita turned to Trish, still transfixed on the door.  
  
"You okay, Queenie?", she asked, concern in her eyes.  
  
Trish snapped out of her haze and looked at her best friend. "Huh?...Oh. Oh, yeah, fine, Li...just surprised, is all."  
  
Austin turned to both Lita and Trish and asked the one question on everyone's mind:  
  
"Now WHAT in the blue hell was THAT all about?"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED.... --------------------------------------------------- 


	4. Part 4 Counterholds

A/N :Hey, guys! Sorry it took me so long to update, but work has been a real Bee-yotch! Hope this will make the wait worth while.

BTW, has anyone read Lita's book yet? I hear it's pretty cool! I'm going to get myself a copy tomorow and check it out!

More on the way, sooner than you think!

Till then, enjoy...

* * *

Chapter 4 - Counterholds

* * *

Eric Bischoff sat there in his office, rewinding the tape opf last night's Unforgiven PPV, watching the women's tag team match with keen interest.

Suddenly, the front door swung open and Molly Holly and Gail Kim walked through the door, their game faces on .

"You wanted to see us?", Molly said, curtly.

Bischoff swivelled around in his black leather chair, his palms pressed against each other, making him look even more smug than normal.

"Yes, actually, I did", he said. "I just wanted to congradulate you on such a hard-fought win last night at Unforgiven...I mean, the way you beat Trish and Lita that night, that was the stuff of legends, you know..." He pretended to pause. "Oh, wait a minute...oh, that's right. You two ended up getting your ASSES kicked,_ didn't you_?"

"Hey! It's not like we didn't try!", Gail said defensively.

" _'Try' _is for losers, Gail! _'Do' _is for _winners_! And right now, I'm staring at a pair of _losers_! Losers who _couldn't _get the job done and take out Lita in one shot!", Bischoff fumed.

"We didn't have enough _time _to prepare for Lita, Eric!", Molly huffed. "If you had just given us a heads-up, maybe a little more time to-"

"First of all, it's _'Mr. Bischoff' _to you, Molly!", Bischoff snapped. "Second of all, it wasn't _my _idea to get Lita back on RAW in the _first _place! You can thank Steve Austin for that!"

"Well, why can't you just fire her or something?", Gail suggested.

"Because, Gail, darling, the contract Lita signed is iron-clad", Bischoff said, wincing at the thought of that legal document. "I can't fire Lita, I can't suspend her, I practically can't do _anything _to her under that document, she's _untouchable_!"

"Well...break the contract, Bischoff! _Fire _her ass already!", Molly snapped.

Bischoff looked at the Women's champion like she just grew two heads. "Do you have _ANY _idea how much money I'm liable to be sued for if I do that? Who's going to pay the bill for that, **_YOU_**?"

After a beat, Molly sighed, "No."

"Then _shut the hell up _and listen to what I have to say!", Bischoff snarled, making Molly and Gail take a step back. The snarmy GM could be intimidating, at least to women. But Molly knew where to respect her limits. In her experience in WCW and WWE, she had come to know Bischoff as a man who would sooner hesitate to look at someone than he would firing them if he didn't like them. "Look at the two of you! You're the perfect match! The reigning WWE Women's champion combined with one of the most talented young Divas in the company today. You two should have dissected Lita and Trish last night, and instead, what do I see on the T.V? _This_!" He showed then the clip of the fierce Litabomb on Gail, Trish's Stratus-Fear hurricanrana on Molly, followed by a Twist of Fate from Lita and a Lita-sault to seal the win for Trish and Lita.

Molly's eyes lit up with anger, clenching her knuckles until they were almost a stony-white.

_Lita_. The name ran spikes of hot rage through every arterial wall in her small, but powerful body. Molly had always hated her, envied her. Even when she was the shining little babyfaced girl teaming with Crash and Hardcore Holly or donning that idiotic cape alongside the Hurricane, bending over backwards to please the fans, she had never heard them cheer for her. Certainly not like they had for _Lita_. Molly could perform flawlessly in the ring, wrestle technical masterpieces, even throw in a little flair with the Molly-Go-Round...and nothing, not even polite applause.

Yet, all Lita had to do was walk out there with her little Ozzy Osbourne hand symbol, dance around, flash her thong and the arenas would explode. Copies of the Xtreme Diva gracing the covers of _WWE Magazine _- and even one _Rolling Stones _layout with the Hardy Boyz - flew off the newstands as if they had wings. DVDs of the redhead's early exploits sold out quickly. And, now - the ultimate insult - she even had her own autobiography out, which was rapidly climbing the world-famous _New York Times Bestseller List_. That stung for the small Minneapolis, Minn., native even worse than her longtime rival Trish Stratus's newly released DVD - and that one hurt.

Molly was haunted by that repetitive occurance for years. Why, even with the Women's Championship, with all the victories and all her in-ring accomplishments, couldn't _she _get that kind of adulation, that kind of _respect_? Because she wasn't a beautiful, blonde, buxom tease like that slutty Trish Stratus? Because she wasn't a sexy, daredevil redhead, or preferred to keep her underwear tucked in her pants, unlike that hussy Lita? It infuriated her.

"However, in spite of your _pitiful _performance", Bischoff continued. "I am willing to grant you both a second chance. Right here, tonight on RAW, it'll be Molly Holly and Gail Kim vs. Lita and Trish Stratus Part II! And for your sakes, I hope you'll be able to put on a better showing than last night."

"But how're we supposed to beat them?", Molly asked. "They're -"

"Tut-tut, my dear", Bischoff quieted her with a finger. "You don't think I haven't thought of that? Observe the monitor, if you please."

The pair watched the rewind of the match, cutting to a clip where Lita gave Gail Kim a thunderous Litabomb. They watched until Molly came from the end of the screen, nailing Lita with a hard shot to the neck. They saw Lita go down, wincing painfully, while clutching the neck.

"I don't get it", Molly shrugged.

"Look again", Bischoff said, rewinding the tape back to that clip. They watched Lita go down as soon as Molly nailed her with a hard shot from behind. Bischoff rewound the clip two more times over.

Suddenly, a light dawned in Molly's eyes. "The neck! _Of course_!"

Bischoff smiled evilly. "Bingo."

"The surgically repaired joints," Gail mused quietly as she scanned the footage. "They must've been aggravated during the match."

"And with a little extra help to further along the...aggravation...", Bischoff mused.

"Then we can take out that red-headed bitch once and for all!", Molly laughed, a dark glimmer appearing in her eyes. "Mr. Bischoff, you're a genius!"

"Yeah, I know", Bischoff yawned. "Now, get out there tonight, you know what to do. And don't even THINK about showing your faces back here without making Lita's homecoming...a farewell party as well."

Molly chuckled giddily to herself as she and Gail left in a hurry.

Bischoff laughed arrogantly, turning back to the monitor to watch a clip of Lita and Trish celebrating their win.

"I hope you've enjoyed your little comeback stint, Lita", he chuckled maliciously. "Because after tonight, the only rampway you'll be going down is the handicap ramp."

Little did he know, that overhearing this conversation in the hallway, luring in the shadows...was none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin.

* * *

Lita and Trish were giggling to themselves as they strolled down the hallway of the hotel they were staying at. In the last week, they had become inseperable. Trish always knew she and Lita had a strong connection, but given everything that had happened since Lita shocked the world the past Monday with her unexpected return, the two friends had become even closer than ever.

It was as if nothing had changed in Lita since that amateur idiot stuntwoman broke her neck at that _Dark Angel _taping last year. The redhead was acting as if she hadn't missed a beat - still kicking ass in the ring, yet still as laid-back and carefree as the blonde Canadian bombshell remembered.

"Can you _believe _all the free stuff we snagged off the table?", Lita asked, incredulously.

"I _know_!", Trish exclaimed, laughing.

The two women broke off their conversation when they were crossing paths with the three Armani suit-clad members of Evolution. Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and of course, Triple H, the now-EX World Heavyweight Champion.

"Uh oh", Trish whispered to Lita. "Here comes trouble."

Lita sighed in annoyance. Oh, she was _quite _familiar with these men - pitiful excuses that they were - and what they had done to RAW in the last few months. In retrospect, it didn't really surprise Lita. She always knew that Hunter had a penchant for gang warfare and strength in numbers - he was a coward, after all - the prime examples with The Game's hand in D-Generation X, The Corporation (or was it Corporate Ministry?) the McMahon-Helmsley regime (Yeah, _that _was fun, she wryly mused) and the Two-Man Power Trip (to this day, Steve still never spoke about that time in his life, as he helped that piece of garbage Vince McMahon and that scumbag Hunter do heinous things - including to Lita herself- that she knew the proud Texas Rattlesnake still regretted - almost as much as he did joining that ridiculous WCW-ECW Alliance soon after that.)

So, it was no surprise to her that Hunter's newest ass-kissers - er, _faction _- consisted of people he could easily manipulate with the promise of glory and fame, a representation of the Past, Present and Future of the WWE. Flair, an aging, yet wily legend desperate for one last shot at glory, and two upstart, yet fame-hungry rookies in the animalistic Batista - still on the injured list, as far as she knew - and this cocky punk Orton. While Lita admitted to herself that he was easy on the eyes, his vainglorious attitude and that infuriating smirk wore thin on the redhead (_third generation Superstar_...**_whatever_**.) But it was his callousness, the flashes of complete disregard for the safety of others that flashed in his clear blue, yet Viper-like eyes - the sickening sight of the merciless Orton head-punting her dear friend Mick Foley down the unforgiving concrete stairs of Madison Square Garden flashed unbidden before her own eyes - that was most chilling. It was _him _that worried Lita the most. She knew that while the 6'6", 300-pound Batista was the intimidator, Evolution's Animal... in Randy Orton...Hunter was breeding a _monster_.

A monster, she had a sickening feeling, that would one day grow up and be ready to bring unthinkable suffering down on them all...

"Well, well, well, isn't THIS a sight for my very sore eyes", Triple H smiled cockily as Evolution suddenly came to a halt directly in front of both Divas. "Both the sultry Trish Stratus AND the ever-lovely Lita, back and badder than ever."

"Hunter", Lita replied cooly. "Long time, no see."

Trish rolled her eyes as she caught sight of Triple H's appreciative stare down Lita's athletically slender body, and Randy's lascivious gaze roaming down her own perfectly toned form. Ric stood to the side, flashing a million-dollar smile. Yet inside, the blonde Canadian was feeling the butterflies of fear fluttering around in her well-sculpted stomach. She had made it a point to avoid Hunter - who, frankly, had always creeped her out - since he and his cohorts had begun running roughshod over RAW in February. They had placed an inpenetrable stranglehold over the World Heavyweight Championship for nearly nine months - until the Mack Truck-tough Goldberg struck gold last night - leaving nothing but carnage and blood-soaked Superstars in their wake. Hunter had been unstoppable ever since. And she knew from experience that Hunter wouldn't think twice to Pedigree her or Lita all over the floor just because it would give him some kind of sick sexual charge. That's why Steve had warned both of them to keep their distance from RAW's newest supergroup. Evolution was a pack of rabid dogs that wouldn't hesitate to tear apart _anyone _who crossed them, even if they _were _Divas.

"What? Is that the nicest greeting you can give?", Hunter asked, almost expectantly, smirking. "Geez, I thought you'd be a little more receptive after sitting at home and being out of the game for so long."

"I'm receptive towards people I _like_", the gorgeous redhead shrugged, smirking back. It amazed Trish how her friend was so confident, almost daring in front of a man known for his hair-trigger temper and his fondness of sledgehammer attacks. But she would sooner be done with this conversation and get out of here. Despite the 'warm' greeting, she knew Hunter didn't like Lita - except some obvious parts of her - and the feeling was more than mutual for the redhead. But out of fear for Lita's safety- as well as her own - she wanted to get as far away from Evolution as possible.

"Why's that, Lita? What's _wrong _with me?", Hunter innocently asked, as his pals smirked alongside him.

"Well, considering you're the cold-hearted, vindictive **_asshole _**who Pedigreed me _twice _and attacked almost all of my friends at some point with either a chair, a car or that damn sledgehammer of yours, I hope you'll understand if I seem like I'd rather tie a steak necklace around my neck and dive into a lake full of Piranhas than look at your ugly face and that 6-foot long beak you call a nose for a single second longer," Lita said evenly as she arched an eyebrow.

_If Li **is **afraid, she's sure doing a hell of a job hiding it_, Trish thought as she eyed the Xtreme Diva cautiously, noting how Hunter's smirk had slowly melted into a displeased scowl.

"Pretty balsy of you to say that to the champ, Lita", Ric said warningly as he stepped forward, patting Hunter's shoulder.

She didn't know if it was Lita's courage or perhaps momentary stupidity, but Trish - weary of this overbearing trio - felt obliged to jump in.

"_Champ_? Didn't he _lose _the World Heavyweight Championship to Goldberg last night after Bill Jackhammered his ass in front of 16,000 people?", Trish asked Lita, in mock interest.

"Why _yes_, Trish, I think that's what happened, but I sort of knew the outcome after that CRUSHING spear, _ouch!_", Lita responded, feigning a mock wince after saying 'spear' before smirking at the former champion. "Yeah, way to impress the ladies, _champ_. I can see how getting your ass handed to you makes a girl all hot and bothered."

Trish nudged Lita. "Actually, Leets...not that sexy."

Lita pretended to think about it. "Yeah. Not really...kinda _sad_, actually."

"Hey, I'll get my belt back, you wait and see", Hunter said, his face suddenly turning red. "And just for the record, normally my friends and I would have to reintroduce you to the comfort of a hospital bed for your rude and nasty remarks, but seeing as how your return is only a week old, I think I'll let it slide for now."

"_Gosh_, will you _really_?", Lita said in a falsely hopeful tone. "Well, gee- willickers, isn't that swell? The great Triple H and his buddies aren't gonna pick afight with two help-wess wittle Divas! I'm so blessed!" Lita sobered up, her tone serious. "Why don't you go and finish off that whole 'evolution' thing you've been working on, the other kind where you actually become _men_? I know, I know, it's still a work in progress for you boys, but if you push yourselves REALLY hard, you might get the hang of it."

Trish chuckled, truly admiring Lita's hudszpa. She probably wouldn't have had the nerve to say that to guys with the sort of dangerous reputation that Evolution carried knowadays, but Lita wasn't only saying it, she was really enjoying it, too.

"Too bad, Lita", Randy flashed that cocky smirk of his. "You don't know what you're missing out on. Oh well", he trailed off as he inched near Trish, who raised an eyebrow in surprise as the young upstart coolly placed a hand on her arm, his touch lingering on the Canadian beauty while tracing his fingers up slowly. "How 'bout you, Trish? Care to give a little tender, lovin' 'Stratus-faction' to a bona-fide Legend Killer?"

Trish scoffed, brushing his hand dismissively off her shoulder. "_Save _it, Randy. You couldn't _handle _the ride. Besides, hanging around guys like Hunter? God knows what I'd catch by going around with YOU."

Randy's eyes narrowed dangerously as he took a step back. "Fine, your loss, baby. Figured it'd be easy getting some from a tramp like you, though."

Lita scowled at the self-proclaimed Legend Killer, her hand itching with the urge to slap that smug smirk right off his face for that insult. But Trish - knowing that action would only end badly, as in with an RKO - stayed the furious redhead with a subtle shake of her head, before offering the third generation Superstar a falsely sweet smile.

"Sorry, little boy, but this..." Trish let a hand trail down her side, slowly tracing the scintillating curves of her bodacious body, "..is a restricted access spot. And _your _lame ass...is restricted."

Lita laughed out loud as Randy's face flushed with embarrassment, Flair's jaw dropped with perverted amazement and Hunter shut his eyes, trying to block out all the naughty thoughts coming to his head.

When the Cerebral Assassin opened them again, he leveled an eerie, death-promising glare at the Divas, and for a moment, Trish had to fight the urge to gulp as she realized she might have pressed her luck a little too far. But the racy redhead glared right back, her steely stare almost daring The Game to take a shot. For a few uncomfortable moments, their staring contest held, as if Hunter was expecting Lita to crack at any second. But, to his surprise, she didn't back down, continuing to glare down the former seven-time World Champion. It was a classic case of the irresistable force( Hunter) meeting the immovable object (Lita)...and the immovable object was winning.

Finally, the leader of Evolution growled as he relented, grudgingly yielding this mini-contest to the former Women's Champion.

"Let's go, guys", Hunter ground out as he turned to the exit. "And Lita, word of advice: Watch your back."

"Temper, temper, Hunter", the redhead scolded as she tauntingly wagged her finger at him. "You wouldn't want to blow a quad or something."

Hunter scowled as he stormed off in a huff, Flair and Randy in tow.

"There was not one part of that conversation that wasn't fun", Lita chuckled, her eyes dancing with glee.

"I can't believe we actually said that to them", Trish laughed, although relief flooded her now that Evolution had finally left them alone.

"Who, those guys? Pfft, trust me, I've gotten to know guys like Hunter. All you have to do is stand your ground and they'll back off", Lita shrugged.

"God", Trish sighed as she glanced at her friend. "It's really great having you back. I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"That's what it's all about, QueenBee," Lita patted her friend on the shoulder. "Well, that and some of that Women's title would be nice."

"Speaking of which", Trish pointed out. "How're we going to prepare for the rematch with Gail and Molly? Knowing those two, they definitely have it in for us tonight, especially considering the way we beat them last night."

"Same way we prepared last night, QueenBee", Lita said simply. "You just keep Gail off my back...I'll handle Molly."

"Got an itching to hurt her, too, huh?", Trish noted.

"Considering that she's tried to end your career, tried to break my neck again, and coupled with the fact that I just don't like her...yeah, I got a yen to kick her fat ass", Lita said as her eyes narrowed. She had been itching to get ahold of Molly for the last year and a half. That whole "pure and wholesome" act she had going last year was infuriating enough, but this new cutthroat bitch persona that had emerged from the miniscule Minnesota native had Lita wanting to tear out Molly's heart from her chest.

Trish chuckled, recalling exactly _who _it was that had coined that unflattering phrase for the current Women's Champion. "Stealing my insults, now, are we?"

"I guess you could call it that", Lita smiled.

"LADIES!", a familiar Texan voice called out to them. The divas turned around to find Stone Cold walking their way.

"Hey, Steve! What's up?", Lita smiled.

"A lot of trouble that's what", Austin replied gravely. "Courtesy of one Eric Bischoff."

"Oh, no", Trish groaned. "What did El Loser Grande do this time?"

"I overheard an interesting little conversation between him, Gail Kim and Molly Holly earlier today" Austin said, as he caught Lita's gaze. "Seems that my 'esteemed' co-GM wants to see you back out of wrestling again, but REAL bad."

"So", Lita shrugged. "What's that got to do with Molly and Gail?"

"Bischoff's given them a few pointers on how to take you both out tonight", Austin said. "In particular, Lita, it looks like they'll be targeting your neck. Tryin' to place ya back in traction again."

Lita felt a chill up her spine at the thought. She couldn't believe that Bischoff would be so classless, so cold to order an attack on her like that. Or then again, it WAS Eric Bischoff they were talking about.

"Those bitches won't get anywhere NEAR Li's neck", Trish said, a look of anger on her face. She had become very protective of Lita, just as Lita was of her.

"While that's nice to say, Trish, odds are in a match, Lita's bound to get involved at some point", Austin pointed out. "And it's inevitable that she'll be targeted."

"No problem", Lita said, determination in her voice. "Molly and Gail want a piece of me? Cool, I'll just beat their asses like I did last night."

"This ain't a joke, Lita", Austin warned. "Molly can be downright vicious. And she's been pretty hellbent on takin' the two of you out, ESPECIALLY you for screwin' up her little plan to cripple Trish here. If there's anyone that can end a career, it's THAT nutjob."

"Don't worry about it, Steve", Lita said, wrapping an arm around Trish. "Besides, I got my girl here. I'll be fine."

"You'd better", Austin grinned. "With your new book coming out and all, it'd be a shame if the story ends with you going back on the DL. Just thought I'd give you a heads-up."

"Thanks", Trish smiled. "You're a good friend, Steve."

"I second that", Lita also smiled.

Austin shrugged. "Just go out there and give 'em hell."

"Don't we always?", Lita winked.

"Cool", Austin said as he turned to leave.

Suddenly, an idea lit up in Lita's eyes. "Hey, Steve!"

Austin turned around. "Yeah, what?"

Lita looked at him curiously. "Do you still have that new Metallica CD?"

Austin shrugged. "Yeah, haven't trashed it yet. There's only one song worth hearin' on it, anyways."

Lita smiled. "Mind if I borrow it?"

* * *

RAW - Ft. Lauderdale - 15 minutes before showtime

Molly Holly slapped on her kneebrace and tucked it under her pants. Gail simply sat in the corner, calmly detting dressed for ring action, but watching Molly with a wary glance. She was getting more and more erratic by the day, and this whole Trish-Lita thing had her acting like a madwoman.

"StupidTrish and StupidLita", she muttered furiously under her breath, forcefully yanking on her right boots, lace-by-lace. "Think they're *so* special because they release a stupid book and a stupid DVD? I could write a book if I want to. And I could sell more DVD's than Trish Stratus EVER could...Little prissy princesses...what do they know about training, anyway?"

* * *

She slapped her black leather biker boots, first the right, then the left.

The opening chords to Metallica's "St. Anger" started blaring furiously in the redhead's ears. Lita stared hard in the mirror, forcefully yanking on her leather wrist bands, first the right, then the left, a ritual she had practiced all these years.

Trish slowly pulled on a black, orange-lined top with her "Stratusfaction Guaranteed" logo on both the front and back which matched her form-fitting tights, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Her game-face was on, intense and focused, the smashing drum beats from the music on her MP3 Player synchronized perfectly with Lita's.

Lita gave her tiny khaki shorts a tug before she adjusted her tight black top, emblazoned with her new logo on it, on the back of it, written in Fiery Old English font, her new catchphrase, a phrase that fit this occasion perfectly:

_This Time It Counts._

_***Saint Anger 'round my neck*** _

_***Saint Anger 'round my neck*** _

_***He never gets respect*** _

_***Saint Anger 'round my neck*** _

* * *

"Bet they never even warm up before a match", Molly continued whispering to herself, still furiously tying her laces. "Little stuck up prisses are probably making *Girlie* talk, looking at themselves in the *mirror*, telling each other how *PRETTY* they look..."

* * *

Lita's fist connected hard with the punching bag, envisioning Molly's face on the other end. Her black-taped hands felt the gentle burn from the contact with each blow. The redhead had a look in her eyes that could kill three times over, if need be. After each hard shot, each explosion of breath from her lungs, every second that ticked away, she was craving Molly's blood.

_***(It's rushin' out, It's rushin' out)*** _

_***Saint Anger 'round my neck*** _

_***(It's rushin' out, It's rushin' out)***_

_***He never gets respect***_

Trish let out a high grunt after each high-extension kick she shot out, conncecting with a tackling dummy set up in her dressing room. She kept up a fast-paced, furious combo speed: one-two punch, right high kick, one-two punch, left high kick, and repeat. She kept thinking back to last week, when Molly and Gail had tried to take away her career, her face, her sense of well-being. The audacity of those women, the callousness, the lack of regard for another human being...especially that of her best friend, when Molly was intent on breaking Lita's neck...again. She let out a hard high kick, crashing mercilessly with a *WHAM!* into the dummy, wishing to God it was Gail or Molly's face on the other side of it.

_***It's rushin' out, It's rushin' out)***_

_***Saint Anger 'round my neck*** _

_***(It's rushin' out, It's rushin' out)***_

_***He never gets respect***_

* * *

"It was always 'Trish, Trish, Trish' or 'Lita, Lita, Lita'...when the hell is it gonna be MY turn?", Molly was bordering on hysterical ranting now. "I'm the goddamn WWE women's CHAMPION, for cryin' out loud! I DESERVE respect!"

Gail was becoming more frightened by the second as her partner raged on. "I train, I work hard, I'm dedicated...Lita and Trish wouldn't know hard work if it bit them on their Thighmaster-toned little asses!"

* * *

"Focus, deep breaths", Lita instructed, as she sat opposite Trish, Indian- style.

_F*ck it all and no regrets_

_I hit the lights on these dark sets_

_I need a voice to let myself_

_To let myself go free._

Both ladies had their eyes closed, their hands interlinked with each other in intense meditation. This time the rage inside both of them had come on even stronger than before, with no intention of stopping. With every rising wave of anger ,of fury, of pain, rage, hurt, and suffering, both had to work harder to focus those black energies, channel them, mold them...

_F*ck it all and f*ckin' no regrets_

_I hit the lights on these dark sets_

_Medallion noose, I hang myself_

_Saint Anger 'round my neck_

Trish felt the heat from inside her radiate outwards, every inch, every molecule in her being feeling as though on fire. Controlling these whirlwind emotions within her was like trying to lasso an F-5 tornado. She was definitely feeling the pain...but somehow, she knew she would be able to take it. And then some.

_I feel my world shake_

_Like an earthquake_

_Hard to see clear_

_Is it me? Is it fear?_

Lita squeezed Trish's hand hard as she strained to focus. There was just so much rage, so much pent up aggression after so long, that it was nearly impossible t get a grip on. Bischoff's little decree on her career, Molly's sick eargerness to carry it out...and that unforgettable look of pure dementia in Victoria's eyes, taunting her, calling for her, screaming for her soul...

'FOCUS, DAMN IT!', she screamed at herself as she gritted her teeth and willed her way forward.

* * *

"I'll show them, I'll show Bischoff, I'll show Lita, I'll show Trish, I'll show EVERYONE!", Molly snapped as she slammed her foot down on the floor, her face beet red.

She whirled on Gail, who was staring at her, gap-jawed. "What the hell are YOU Staring at, Gail? Get your ass up, we're getting ready!"

Gail jumped to her feet immediately, fearing for her life as Molly grabbed her roughly by the arm and jerked her to the door.

"I'll show them all", Molly hissed. "There isn't ANY Diva in this company more driven, more focused, more intense than ME!"

* * *

The fire raged within them both, hotter and hotter still. But now, it was different. Now, the raging inferno had molded, pressed into a pillar, a funnel of intense energy and force.

_I'm madly in anger with you_

_ I'm madly in anger with you_

_ I'm madly in anger with you_

_I'm madly in anger with you_

Lita gasped and Trish panted hard as they focused their respective strengths. Perspiration dripped from their foreheads, their fingertips, as they neared their own internal fires, self-created from within.

_...and I want my anger to be healthy_

_...and I want my anger just for me_

_...and I need my anger not to control_

_...yeah, and I want my anger to be me_

Lita uttered three simple words, but with stern force.

"Grab it..._NOW_."

_...and I need to set my anger free_

Their hands seared with unreal as they felt the power, the anger, the sting of their own emotions course through and pass through them, infusing within them, bonding with them, encompassing every fiber, molecule, every hair and nerve ending in their bodies...

_...and I need to set my anger free_

"That's it", Lita gritted her teeth, wincing as she did. "Come on, Trish, _push it through_!"

Trish let out a gutteral sound from within her, cringing as she squeezed for dear life as the raging power finally started to yield...

_...SET IT FREE!_

It was done.

Silence.

Neither one of them spoke a word for several moments, panting and regaining their composure. Their eyes opened and met one another's stare at the exact same time.

Trish was amazed as she stared into Lita's eyes. She saw the stare of a true warrior, a fighter, the gaze of a woman who had truly been tested by life, and had clawed her way to where she was today...on top of her game.

Lita smiled inwardly as she saw Trish's eyes glow with that spark, that deadly glare that revealed the gladiator that, deep down, Lita always knew she could be...that deep down, Trish herself knew she could be.

"You ready?", Lita asked her friend.

Trish grinned dangerously. "Ryde or Die."

Lita smirked as their fists connected in their handsymbol. "BadGirls 4 Life."

* * *

The matchup was fast-paced and intense. Gail and Molly tried the isolation tactic, as predicted by this time, the brunt of the attack was focused on Lita. Just as Austin had warned, Molly and Gail repeatedly tried to work over the surgically repaired neck, but the wily veteran Lita was one step ahead of them as she used her speed and power advantage to overturn their attacks.

Trish was targeted on the outside, the strategy being to take Trish out early so as to leave Lita partner-less. But Molly and Gail underestimated the tenacity of the Canadian Diva, as Molly found herself the victim of a hard Chick Kick and Lita worked over on Gail Kim.

However, later in the match, Trish was attacked on the outside, leaving Lita to take on both Molly and Gail in a 2-on-1 situation.

However, Lita was more than ready for them. Lita nailed both canniving Divas with a double clothesline, hopping quickly to her feet. She nailed Gail with a dropkick before the upstart Diva even knew what hit her, and turning her attention to Molly Holly, nailing her with a suplex, before agily springing to her feet, wowing the crowd.

Gail recovered and attempted to charge Lita, but the redhead countered with a Tilt-A-Whirl Slam that left Gail nearly senseless. The referee tried to count to three, but Molly broke up the pin with a hard shot to Lita's neck.

Lita rolled off Gail immediately, clutching her neck painfully. As she sat up, wincing as the pain throbbed in her throat, Molly grabbed hold of Lita's head and began to twist hard. The redhead cried out in pain, feeling the strain against her neck, muscle and bone becoming rapidly unbearable. Molly sadistically smiled as she continued her assault.

"Oh, my God! This is just cruel! Molly Holly purposely trying to re-injure Lita's neck!", JR shook his head.

"I've been saying it all along! Molly Holly's just a bitter, bitter little lady!", King said.

"That's right, Lita", she screeched, holding Lita's head tightly. "You never should've come back...I'm gonna end your miserable career _right now_- OOMPH!"

"_CHICK KICK! CHICK KICK!_ Trish made the save on Lita, and probably saved Lita's career there!", JR called it.

Molly was cut off as Trish ran in from behind and delivered a Chick Kick right to the head of the paranoid women's champion. Dazed, Molly rolled out to the outside of the ring, but a furious Trish, angered by what she had seen her try to do to Lita, followed her out, leaping from the ring apron and tackling Molly to the ground, pounding on her with furious right hands.

"Look at Trish go! What a woman, JR!", King exclaimed giddily.

Slightly groggy, Lita gingerly got to her feet, and noticed that a still-disoriented Gail Kim was only beginning to get up. Seizing her chance, the skilled veteran Lita struck quickly, nailing Gail with a hard Twist of Fate and covering the Asian Canadian rookie to seal the victory.

"Lita does it again! What a hard-fought victory!", JR yelled.

Lita cringed as she got up slowly, her theme music blasting all over the arena. Trish hopped back into the ring, quick to check on her best friend.

"Li, are you okay?", she said, her eyes wide and concerned.

"Mmngh...yeah, I'm fine", Lita said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

The blonde was still uncertain, her brown eyes clouded in worry as she watched her best friend closely. "She didn't strain anything, did she?"

"Relax, QueenBee", Lita chuckled, playing the pain down as she forced a smile. "I'm good. Nothing a little ice won't cure." She paused a beat. "Thanks for the help back there, by the way."

"Hey, you cover me, I cover you", Trish smiled as she hugged Lita tightly in celebration. The two were joyously basking in their victory until Trish noticed a figure emerging from the shadows of the entrance rampway.

Sure enough, Victoria came forth slowly from the shadows. Her wild eyes glittered with malice, and she smiled chillingly at the pair of Divas standing in the ring. In her hands, a steel chair was gripped tightly.

"Uh-oh! This looks bad, JR!", King groaned.

"What the hell is this? That damned psycho Victoria is just standing there with a steel chair in hand! What is this all about?", JR asked.

"How should I know? She's an idiot!", King said.

Trish and Lita turned to each other, concerned.

"NOW what does that psycho bitch want?", Trish groaned.

"No clue", Lita said as she stared a hole back at Victoria, her face stony. "But we better be on guard, it looks like she might want to come on down and play."

Victoria stood there for a few more moments before she let out a chuckle, left eye twitching, ran a free hand shakily through her long black hair and slowly disappeared back into the shadows.

"Now what the hell is Victoria all about? Why was she standing there with a steel chair?", JR asked, confused.

"You're trying to figure out how Victoria's MIND works, JR? Hah! Good luck finding the needle in THAT haystack!", King snorted.

Trish looked at Lita, her beautiful face scrunched in confusion. "What the fuck was _that _all about?"

"Hell if I knew, QueenBee", Lita shook her head. "Hell if I knew."

"_**HEY**_!"

A loud, booming female voice got the two women's attention. Both whirled around to find Molly Holly, clutching her head as she backed up the ramp, women's title in hand and a furious look on her face. Gail Kim was along side her, wincing as she clutched her neck and back.

"You know,I am just so damn SICK of hearing everywhere I go, 'Lita's back, Lita's back', 'Check out Lita's new Book', 'Lita's such a great wrestler', 'Lita's sooo beautiful', 'Lita this', 'Lita that', **AARGH**! I'm _SICK OF IT_!", Molly screeched.

Lita and Trish smiled at each other and rolled their eyes. Molly could be so petty it was almost comical.

"But you know what, Lita? There is ONE thing I have that you'll never have, and that's the WWE women's title!", Molly hoisted her belt up in the air for all to see, to a chorus of boos as Gail clapped in acknowledgement.

Lita's eyes narrowed as she fixated on Molly. The audacity of that arrogant little bitch! Who in the hell was Molly, anyway, to talk to her like that?

Lita was tossed a microphone. She suddenly had a glint in her eyes as she whispered something in Trish's ear. Trish's eyes lit up and she nodded, to Lita's delight.

"Well, you're wrong about one thing, Molly", she started out. "There IS something of yours that I will never have, but I'm not talking about the women's title. _That's _coming home with me sooner than you _think_..."

Molly shook her head wildly, shouting "This is MY belt!", but not into the microphone.

"There **_is _**one thing you have that I will never have...", she paused, smiling mischievously before she continued. "And that's...your LARGE..."

"Humongous...", Trish chimed in.

"Enormous...", Lita added.

"Gigantic...", Trish smirked.

"Disgusting..." Lita crinkled her nose.

"Bulging..." Trish threw in.

Both divas smiled at each other before shouting in unison, "_**BIG...FAT...ASS**_!"

Molly's jaw dropped in shock, her face reddening with outrage and embarassment as the crowd roared its approval, with a smattering of chants of "_YOU'RE-a-FAT-Ass!", "YOU'RE-A-FAT-ass_!"

Gail inwardly shrugged. 'Well...guess they got her there.'

"HAhahahaha! This is great, JR!", King cracked up in hysterics.

"Molly not looking too pleased there", JR noted.

"SHUT UP!", Molly shouted to the crowd, which only increased the chants until the whole building started to roar the "YOU'RE-A-FAT-ass!" hockey chant. "I'm the women's champion, damn it! And I deserve respect!...And I do NOT have a FAT ass!" But the chants continued at a frenzied pace, the embarrassment of the moment leaving the reigning WWE Women's Champion almost near tears.

Lita would have felt sorry for her...but considering that the crazy bitch tried to break her neck just moments before and all the hell she put Trish through, she found this very amusing. As did Trish, who giggled at Molly's rage-flushed face.

"Okay, Lita!", Molly shouted, incensed. "You and _Trish Stratus _think you're _so damn special_, huh? Well, if you're so special, then how about next Monday Night on RAW, Lita, why don't you face me in the ring one-on- one, so I can send you back on the Disabled List where you belong?"

Lita saw an opportunity, and she smiled. She was planning on waiting for a little while to do this, but now that Molly had pissed her off, the Xtreme Diva could think of no better way to take the mean-spirited, egotistical women's champion down a peg. "_You _want _me _one-on-one next week?...Fine, okay, I guess it wasn't enough to get your ass kicked two nights in a row, so why don't we make it a hat trick?"

Molly nodded and smiled maliciously, imagining the terrible things that she was going to do to her redheaded rival next week.

"But you know what?", the redhead grinned dangerously. "If you're as bad as you say you are, Molly, then, uh...why don't you put the women's title on the line? I think that's fair, right?"

The audience roared thunderous cheers in approval.

"That sounds like a GREAT idea!", JR said.

"GREAT? This is FANTASTIC! YEAH!", King whooped.

The color drained from Molly's face at those words. She glanced down at her title belt, suddenly not so sure about the prospect of fighting Lita one on one, anymore. The women's title was all she had going for her. Without it, she would be destroyed. That belt meant almost as much to her as the World Heavyweight Title meant to Triple H: she was practically obsessed with it .

"You-you-you don't deserve a shot at this title, Lita!", she shouted angrily. "Title shots have to be earned, and you just came back, and I'm not giving a title shot to any Johnny-Come-Lately who walks through that door and-"

"Are you chickening out on me, Molly?", Lita asked, a tone of amusement in her voice. " Are you - the two-time and reigning WWE Women's Champion, the so-called symbol of the Women's Division - backing out of a championship challenge in front of _thousands _of people? In front of a live Monday Night RAW audience of _millions around the world_? Is _that _what you're doing? Why? Are you afraid of me?"

Lita shook her head and chuckled. "So, _this _is what the WWE Women's Championship has come to, huh? When the champion hides behind rankings and rules and _certain _slimy, greasy-haired General Managers with no testicles..." At that point, she broke off to look to a nearby camera and sweetly wave "_HI, BISCHOFF_!" before continuing, "... to duck a challenge? When _I _was Women's Champion, I took on _all _comers. Same with Trish. And Chyna. When the Fabulous Moolah was around, I bet _she _never hid behind rules to protect her title like a scared little girl. Because unlike _you_...we were _REAL _champions."

From the way Molly gnashed at her teeth, Lita knew that she struck a nerve in the champion.

Trish smirked as she took the mike from Lita. "What, you mean you didn't know, Lita? That yellow streak runs all the way down from her neck to her LARGE..."

"HuMONGOUS...", Lita grinned.

"Gigantic..." Trish continued.

"Disgusting..." Lita added again, smiling.

"_SHUT UP_!", Molly screeched.

"_**BIG FAT ASS**_!", both ladies finished.

The crowd roared again in approval as the "YOU'RE-A-FAT-ass!" chants started again.

"_Alright, alright_!", Molly shouted, her face beet red. "You know what, Lita? You want a shot at my title next week, you _**GOT IT**_!"

Lita nodded her head in approval as the crowd cheered.

"YEAH, all right! _This is huge_, JR!", King exclaimed.

"_Molly vs. Lita next week for the Women's title_! I can't wait!", JR enthusiastically said.

"Nice strategy", Trish whispered to Lita.

"Vanity...every woman's weak spot", Lita winked to her, covering the mike with her hand so that she would be unheard.

"But just so you realize, Lita", Molly said, her voice on edge now, her eyes dangerously glittering. "I will defend this title with everything I've got! And if I have to break your neck AGAIN, I won't think twice about it, and I WILL send you home in a wheelchair, and there you'll stay for the rest of your LIFE!", she hissed.

Lita's eyes suddenly took on a deadly glow, a fire lit underneath those hazel orbs. "I know you're gonna _try_, Molly...but just remember this...I've beaten you many, _many _times before...and honey, my bag of tricks only got bigger since then. If I don't crunch you with a Litabomb, I'll knock your ass out with a Twist of Fate, and if that doesn't work, either I'll put you away with a DDT or I'll nail you with a Lita-sault and pin your ass to the mat! I've been sitting at home for the last 17 months listening to you run your mouth, and Monday night on RAW, I'm gonna shut it closed. And there's nothing that's going to be _cute _about it, there's nothing that's going to be _Super _about it, and there sure as hell won't be anything _pure and wholesome _about it, either. Plain and simple...I'm coming to _hurt _you, Molly."

Trish watched in silent awe as the Queen of Extreme's eyes smoldered with rage. "I'm going to make _you _feel like my best friend Trish felt when you and your little rookie lapdog Gail jumped her week after week. I'm going to make _you _the one who's lying on the ground, hurting everywhere, not sure what's going on around you, not sure if you'll even walk away from the beating you're taking. I'm coming to bust up your _face_, I'm coming to break your _bones_, I'm coming to leave you on your back in the middle of this ring as a _bloodied, broken, twitching heap _of the woman you once were. I'm going to give your _fat ass _a beating you never thought possible, and I WILL walk out of RAW that night as the_ NEW...WWE...Women's Champion_!"

The crowd roared in approval, as Molly looked as if she was ready to burst .

"Remember Molly...time is ticking", Lita said, her glare intense as she gazed at Molly. "Your days as WWE women's champion...your days of being on top...hell, maybe even _all _your days...are about to come to an end. You and me, Molly...next Monday Night on RAW...and Molly?..._This Time It Counts_!"

Lita's theme music blasted throughout the arena, getting a roar from the crowd as deafening chants of "_LI-TA! LI-TA! LI-TA_!" echoed throughout the arena.

Molly's eyes locked with Lita's in a deadly staredown. The champion's hands were trembling as she held her belt, gritting her teeth and shaking her head, cursing Lita and holding up her title. In response, a smirking Lita made a gesture with her hands around her waist, indicating the Women's title about to go on her waist.

"CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? LOOK AT MOLLY HOLLY, she looks like she's about to explode!", King laughed.

"Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, next Monday night on RAW!...Lita!...Molly Holly!...the WWE Women's title is on the line!...and folks, something tells me this one's not going to be for the weak of heart!...it's going to be a slobberknocker, folks!...Next week on RAW!", JR announced with vigor.

Trish's eyes widened and she felt goosebumps at Lita's fiery words. As the blonde bombshell watched the intensity that shone in Lita's eyes, Trish saw that the fiery redhead meant business.

As a former champion herself, Trish knew how much that WWE Women's Championship meant to Lita. And after everything her best friend had gone through just to get back into the ring, Trish knew that the flame-haired femme fatale wouldn't stop at anything to get her hands on the coveted championship once again.

But, after that scare with her neck, the blonde heard Stone Cold's words of warning ringing inside her head, and she couldn't help but wonder if Lita was rushing into this too fast.

"Li...you sure you're up for next Monday night?", Trish asked, eyeing her friend with concern.

Showing no hesitation, Lita nodded. "Queenbee, I've been waiting for this, _dreaming _about this, for over a year. Next week, even if it kills me, that women's title is coming home with me one more time."

Trish smiled softly. "You know I've got your back...right?"

"Always", Lita winked. "You and me."

"Ryde or Die", Trish smiled as she held out their secret handshake.

"BadGirls 4 Life", Lita smiled back as their fists pounded in solidarity. They exchanged a hug to a wildly cheering audience, before heading to the back, basking in the glow of the fans' adolation.

* * *

Up in his dimly lit office, Eric Bischoff threw his glass of champagne against the wall, shattering it in frustration.

"DAMN IT!", Bischoff cursed.

Once again, Lita and Trish had beaten both his girls...and now, Lita was one step closer, maybe a week away, to achieving her dream, and his nightmare: winning her second WWE Women's Championship.

"You can forget about it, Lita", Bischoff swore under his breath, his knuckles clenched so hard they were becoming white. "Because as long as I still have breath in my body, mark my words...you will NEVER see the WWE women's title!"

He chuckled darkly to himself, smiling. "No,no,no...you'll never see it...but you will see, everyone will see...when you fight next Monday on RAW...for the very...LAST...TIME!"

His sinister laughter became louder, as the dim glow of the TV Screen made his pointed features appear as what at heart he really was...Cold. Sadistic.

A monster.

* * *

TBC...


End file.
